Google
This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project
to make the world's books discoverable online.
It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject
to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books
are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.
Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the
publisher to a library and finally to you.
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for
personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web
at |http: //books .google .com/I
DigilizedbyGoOgle
-:.V^ V
„Googlc
DigilizedbyGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMKRrE
Digitized byGoOgIC
FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
OF CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
AND COMMERCIAL AND
INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATIONS
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER. 1912
POBUSHID BT
BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
BOSTON. U.S.A.
DigilizedbyGoOgle
■^v.
DigilizedbyGoOgle
deface
The growth and increase of international oi^anizations is one of the most
important developments of recent years. Among these evidences of an in-
creasmg internationalism, no association is entitled to a place of higher stand-
ing or gives promise of greater constructive results than the International
Congress of Chambers of Commerce.
The official sesdons of the Congress, held every two years, bring together
business men from practically every commercial nation on the globe, and ac-
complish very definite results for the unification of international commercial
practices. The personal acquaintanceships made at the meetings among prom-
inent men of different nations also furnish the occasion for the b^innings of
many transactions in international commerce, resulting to the mutual advan-
tage of both parties.
And finally, beyond these practical results, the friendship and good will
which follow acquaintanceship and a better understanding of each other's point
of view, make of the Congresses a living force for the promotion of international
peace.'
For these reasons the Boston Chamber of Commerce took pleasure in un-
dertaking the organization of the Fifth Congress which met in Boston in Sep-
tember, 1912, the first time that this great international organization ever held
its sessions in the Western hemisphere. It takes this occasion to express grati-
tude for the co-operation of the Govenmient of the United States, the commercial
oig&nisations in all parts of the country, and the citizens of Boston generally.
It is naturally a source of great pleasure that the Boston Congress should have
been the first at which there were in attendance a considerable number of dis-
tinguished business men not only from North America, in which the Congress
was held, but also from South America and the Far East.
The usual official report of the V^th Congress, principally in the French
language, will be issued by the Permanent Committee from Brussels. In the
Appendix to this book will be found the stenographic report of the official ses-
(dons, and the text- of the addresses at the final banquet — principally in the
EngliBh language, although in cases where the speaker used another language,
the original language as well as the English translation is given.
As it is generally agreed that the larger benefits of these Congresses are
brought about outside the official sessions, we have endeavored to make avail-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
2919o.'J
iv INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
able in this report material not readily accessible, which, it is hoped, will in-
terest and help beyond the reading of the printed speeches.
To this end, the first part of this book is devoted to telling briefly the his-
tory of the previous Congresses, the story of the Boston Congress, and con-
cluding with material which will be valuable to the foreign delegates in helpii^
them to refresh their recollections of some of the things which they saw on their
trip to America.
And this part of the book has been interspersed with illustrations in the
hope of making it still more interestii^. Of course, the narrow limits of this
volume make impossible the inclusion of the photc^aphs of all who bad a prom-
inent place in the promotion of this international movement, or even of the
Boston Coi^ress. The Boston Chamber of Commerce has included photographs
of those Government Delegates and members of the Permanent Committee and
American Committees of the Boston Congress which were readily available.
It extends apolc^es to the many who lent their co-operation whose photographs
were not in its possession at the time of printing.
And just as each of the Congresses aheady held has been more aucce^ful
than the preceding, the Boston Chamber of Commerce hopes that this publi-
cation may to some extent help to increase interest in and attendance at the
Sixth Coi^ress, which is to meet in Paris in June, 1914.
Boston, U.S.A., 1913.
Digitized byGoOgIC
Contents
Pbetacx iii
CoN^rENTB ^ ....... ^ .,......,.,..,...... y
Lm OF IiiUBTBATioNS vii
GBEZTiNa Facing 1
Pttbposb anp Scopk of the Intkbkationai. Congbess 1
OmczBa or Fittb Intcbmatiomal CoKOBEas 3
Intkbkational CoNORBSOca or Chahbkbs or Cohmsbce 6
Brief History 5
Permanent Cranmittee 9
Programa of the CoDgressea 10
Acre AND RxeoLDTioNB or thb Boston CoNOBEes 13
OmcuL SBeaiONB at Bostoh 17
Te« Etenib at Boston 25
TouB or THB Untted Statbs 31
Boston 41
Facts abottt ibb Citibs Vibitid on the Amkkican TotiB 51
Snienbix
Dbuoateb to thb Fdth International Conobbss op Chaubers or Coumbbcb . . 63
Fbrmamknt Couotteb 91
OmcBBS AND Akxbican CoionTTEEB 99
LiBT or CoMHBBcui. Oboanuations Affiliatbd with Pbbmanbht CoiaaTrsE . . 117
SixNOGBAPHic Rbpobt Or OmciAL Sessions 131
Addreases at Official Opening of the Congress 131
TheEstaUiehmentof a Fixed Date for Eaat«r, and the Reform of the Calendar . . 144
The Regulation of Intematioaal Ezpoeitioiia 152
EstablishiDent of an International Court of Arbitral Justice for Suits between In-
drridnala and Foreign States 153
The Unification of Legislation Relating to Checks 190
Cramneraal Btatistice, and the Immediat« Institution of an International Office . 231
Validation oi Through-order-notify Bills of Lading 230
Intematioiial Postal Reforms in View of the Next Conference of the Universal
Postal Union in 1913 244
Digitized byGoOgIC
vi INTERNATIONAL C0N0RES8
Tlie Desirability of Intemational Umformity of Action in the Msttw of C
Invoicee
The Desirability of an latemational Conferenoe on Priees And the Cost of living .
IntenutioDo] Atbitration
The Banquxt: Stxnogbaphic Rxpobt or ts> AsDBBasBB
RUI.BB
Digitized byGoOgIC
lisst of 3niii8ttattotul
Boston Cbaubeb of Comuerce Frontiipket
Hon. WnjjAH H. Taft, Premdent of the United States of America; Preeideiit of Amer-
ican Honorary Committee 6
HoM. PfliLAMniJi C. Knox, Secretary of State for the United States of America ... 7
Hon. Chakleb Naoel, Secretary of Commerce and Labor for the United BtBtee of
America 7
Loms Canon-Lboband, President of the Fifth International Congreaa of Chambers of
£iai.E JoTTRAND, General Secretary of the Fifth International CoDgreai of Chambers
(rf Commerce 8
Hon- Ecobne N. Fobs, Governor of Massachusetts 9
Hon. Josn F. FiTZOEaAU), Mayor of Boston Et
JoBBPH B. RxTBSELL, President Boston Chamber of Conmierce 10
James A. McKibben, Secretary Boston Chamber of Commerce 10
Georob S. Suith, Chairman Boston Executive Committee 10
KoBEBT J. BoTTOULT, Secretary Boston Executive Committee 10
William H. Bain, Director of the BosUin Chamber of Commerce; Member of B<»ton
Executive Committee 11
EuiBR J. Bliss, Chairman General Organizing Committee II
JoBN H. Fabbt, Chairman Committee on Tour II
Bernard J. Rotbwell, Chairman Committee on Entertainment II
jAiae J. SroBBOw, Chairman Boston Honorary Committee 12
Prof. F. W. Taussiq, Chairman Committee on Program 12
James T. Wetherau), Chairman Committee on Publicity 12
BoBEBT WiNBOK, Chairman Committee on Finance 12
F. FAiTHPrLL Beoo, Chairman of Council of London Chamber of Commerce .... 13
W. J. Tbompbon, London Chamber of Commerce 13-
M. E. YoNKEB, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Amsterdam 13
T. Edward Wildkh, Chicago ABBociation of Commerce 13
Prof. Dr. Max Apt, Syndic of "Die SitcslenderKaufmannBchftft von Berlin". ... 14
Dr. Alf. Gboko, Vice-President of Chamber of Commerce of Geneva, Switieriand . , 14
EuoIne Allard, President Belgian Chamber of Commerce of Paris 14
Charles S. Haioht, New York, N. Y 14
Wilbur J. Cabr, Director American Consular Service 15
Prof. IiiviNa Fibber, Yale University 15
Dr. SoETBBER, General Secretary of " Der Deutscher Handelstag," Beriin 15
Dr. Max von Tatxnthal, First Secretary Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Vienna 15
Hon. John Barrbtt, Director-General of the Pan-American Union Ig
H. E. F. a. Pesbt, Minister of Peru, Washington, D. C; Delegate of Commercial As-
sociations of Lima and Callao 18
Tii
Digitized byGoOgIC
viii INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
orromrrm faQS
H. E. Dr. Cablob Mabu dk Pena, Ministw of Uruguay, WaahingtoD, D. C; Delegate
of Uruguay 18
H. E.ANTomoMABTTMRivzBo,Miniat«rofCubft,WMtiington,D.C.;DdegateofCuba 18
Makttxl Jacintho Ftbrkiha da Cunba, Consul General of BruQ, New Yodc, N. Y. . 19
Count Candido de Mbmdbb db Almkida, Director Commercial Mueeum of Rio de
Janeiro 19
Pedro Ratabl Rinconbs, Consul General erf Veneiuela, New York, N. Y 19
Ai>OLPO Ballivi2k, Consul General of Bolivia, New York, N. Y 19
Dr. Leonabd Hocbdobt, Seoretaiy to the Austrian Ministry ot Commerce 22
Dr. Eoumn) KuNoei, Aaaistant Secretary Hungarian Miniatiy of Commerce .... 22
Vicente Goneali», Ecuador 22
Rahon AjtiAa-FEOAUD, Panamft 22
Db. Abel Pardo, Consul General of Argentina, New York, N. Y 23
RiCAXDO Banchbe Crue, Consul General of Chile, New Yc^, N. Y 23
Horace N. Fibher, Consul of Chile, Boston, Mass 23
Da. JoROB Vabqas, Consul of Columbia, Boston, Mass. 23
DELBOATXa AT ONE OP THE OFFICIAL SESeiONB 26
Special Editionb OF THE "BoeroN Chauber OP CoHMEBCE News" 29
Gboup of Delxoates fbou Bbitibb Eupibb Saiukq fbom Boston 27
Gboup of Delegates from Japan 27
Gbouf of DELZOATxa in Front of the Coplet Plasa Hotel 28
Grodf op DxiAiATXS AT THE Thouab O. Plant Shoe Factobt, September 27, 1912 29
Grodp op Deuiqateb at Houb op Ex-Mator Jameb Looan, Worcester, Mass.,
September 30, 1912 34
DiNNEB OP Mehbebb OP CoeHOPOUTAK Club, Pittsbu^Ji, PenDsylvania, October
11, 1912 31
Delegates at Factobt of Packabd Motob Coupant, Detboit, Michigan ... 3S
LuiGi SoLABi, Fieaident Italian Chamber of Commerce of New York 38
Chablbb C. Hott, President New England Shoe and Leather Association 38
Dr. W. p. WneoN, Director Philadelphia Commercial Museum 38
John H. Patiebbon, President National Cash Register Company 38
DimiEB BT FOREION DBWlATXfi IM HOKOB OP BOBTON CbaMBBB OF COUUEBCE, NeW
York City, October 19, 1912 39
Bbd'b-Etx View of Boston 40
CopLET Plaza Hotel, Coplet Squabe, Boston, Headquarters of Fifth International
Congress 41
Boston Public Libbabt, Coplet Square 41
Steamship Docks at East Boston 42
Head House, Coiihonweai/th Pibb, South Boston 42
FiBHiNa Fleet at T Wharp, Boston 43
State Bathhouse at Retebe in Metbofolitan Boston 43
Plant op the Walthak Watch Cohpant in Metropolitan Boston 44
Plant of the Thohab G. Plant Sboe Cohpant, Boston 44
Plant of the United Shoe Macsinest Company 46
Wood Wobsted Milu at Lawbence 45
Hall of the Boston SmPHONT Obchbstba 46
Boston Opera House 46
Harvard Medical School, Boston 47
Boston Mcbedm of Fine Arts 47
West Boston BRmoB to Cahbriixib 48
Strbjr Railwat Tbbional at Fobest Hills, Boston 48
Public Gaboens in the Centbb of Boston 49
OmaioNwSAioH Avenue, Boston 49
,y Google
CEAMBEBS OF COMMERCE
OFTOBin
MAfiSACBiTBBTTa Statk Hoitbe, Boston
SiATi Btrmbt, Boston, Showing Old State House
South Tbbhinai. Railboas Station, Bostoh
XJbion Station, WoaccsTEB
McKiNixT MomnixHT, Butfalo
Niagara Fallb
Vnw or THfl Lakb Fboht, Cbicaoo
PoBnoN of toe Chicaoo Stock-tabdb
View of the RtviiK Fbont, Dztsoit
ViKw Fsou THE Ohio Rivbb, Cimcinkati
The Capitol, Wabhthoton, D. O
White House, Wabhinoton, D. C
The Skt Lnra of PnTSBUBOH
Ihsependxnge Hall, Philuiblpbia
The Setbcrapxbs of IiOwxb New Yobk
Tbbee of thx Bridgis to Bboozlth, New York
Official PHOTOORAf h or DzLEaATiB to Fittb Intbrkational Conqbess of Chah-
sebs of Couukrcr dt Front of Coplbt Plaea Hotel, Boston, Sefteubeb 25,
1912
Digitized byGoOgIc
DigilizedbyGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
il \ '^..'f": ,-■■,;(
'.'li-.i, Linif.inii la-A.- i '
ri. .•.r-i,.l ou, ;,-. (, 1'. -,-;,
i-ns nr.a V.<- G r. .,.i- i ; .■
.■h\ci. uiL- &'iii;,i'i.! w,.!. :■ ■ ■■
The (.o^,(UJi.-'-^ -f ;■:, -,
v.-- 1"-.-,! h-M, hv,.- ■,;■.■.-.:; ■
...n. 'I*i:.- l.MM. ;. rfi-rtw.. ..- ■,
IV till- t.. ■-,.-.- 11-1, Qf I. '., .
■ivo pvi'ii lo ih'-M '.'orer-
/<■ uf tin- VLiivU' wi-rlil.
Digitized byGoOgIC
DigilizedbyGoOgle
gjit Jnttmational Congctttf
The International Congress of Chambers of Commerce and
Commercial and Industrial Associations is an organisation rep-
resenting the business men of the entire vorld.
The purpose of the Congress is to facilitate the commercial
intercourse of nations and to promote cordial relationships be-
tween them. At its biennial sessioiis the Congreea condders
international commercial problems. It strives to secure har-
moi^ of action on all international queetjons affecting commerce
and trade by enlisting the co-operation of the various nations
to obtain unifonn lawB with reference to commercial matten.
-The recommendations adopted by the vote of the del^ates
are carried out by a Permanent Committee with headquarters
at Brussels which keeps in touch with the constituent organisa-
tions and the Governments of alt countries.
The delegates to the Confess are of two classes : first, the offi-
cial del^ates designated to attend the Congress by the Govern-
ments of the leading commercial nations; second, the del^ates
s^ipointed by the leading buaness organizations of the world
which are affiliated with the Congress.
The Governments of all countries in which the Congresses
have been held, have always vouchsafed their official recogni-
tion. The broadly representative character of the delegates in
attendance and the interest taken in the work of the Congress
by the buainesB men of highest standing of all nationalities
have given to these Congresses a notable place in the bunnesa
life of the whole world.
The Congresses have been held as follows: Liige, 1906; Milan,
1906; Prague, 1908; London, 1910; Boston, 1912.
Digitized byGoOgIC
DigilizedbyGoOgle
:f tftfi Intemational Congrttftf
eatms
Loms CAKON-LsaaAMD
PruUml q^ fA« Permontfnl CommilUt of tht IiUtmatioruU Congrttt. President of the Federa-
Hon tff the Commereial and Induttritd Aieoeiaiiona of Bdgium. Fretident of
the Chamber of Commerce of M<mi
Vic«-Presld«nt
Edwakd a. Fiuura
ViM-PTt»ideiU <if the Permatteni Committee of the ItOematumcd Congreei, Member of
Boeton ChatrAer of Commerce
Oftnonl S«crstatT
CbOLS JonSAHTI '
Stnttary <^ Iha Chamber of Commerce <^ Mont. Secretary trf the Federation <4 *** Commercial
and /fulvctrtaJ Auodaiioru ef Bel^ttm. Director qf the Commercial Imtitttle of Ute
Maniifaeturen qf Hainavt
Ihtfton tfxemtfbe Committct
QxoBOB 8. Smtth, ChAiimAn
Preeiietd Boaton Chamber iff Commerce, 1911
WiLLUH H. Bain
Dmetor Boeton Chamber ef Commerce
F.i.MT.n J, Buss
Chairman Oeneral Organiginf CommiUee
WnxuM E. BonoB
Second Yiee-PretideiU Botlon Chamber iff Commerce
3. IUin>oLPH CoouiKis, Jr.
Firet Yiee-Preeident Boeton Chancer qf Commerce
JoHM E. Fahbt
Chairman Committee on Tow
Edwabd a. FiLun
Yie^PretideiU IntemoHtmal Coagreu t^ Chamberi tif Commerce
Jahbs a. McKibbxm
Seeretary Boeton Chamber of Commerce
Bbbhabd J. ROTEWXLL
Chairifum Committee on BiOerlainmeni. Preeident Botton Chancer of Commerce, 1910
loexra B. Rubssll
Prteident Boeton Chamber of Commerce, 1912
Jamxs J. Btobbow
Chairman Boeton Honorary CommiOee. Preaident Boeton Chamber of Commerce, 1909
F. W. Taussiq
Chairmatt CommxUee on Program
Jaub T. Wvibkrald
Chairman Coirunitiee on Publieity
ROBZBT WlKSOB
Chatrnum CommiOee on Finance
RoBEBT J. BoTTOiCLT, SccrOoTy
Digitized byGoOgIC
DigilizedbyGoOgle
Sntemotionol CongrtStfesc of Cijamfaersc of Commerce
The International Congress of Chambers of Commerce and Commercial
and Industrial Aesociations is an organization repiesentii^ the business men
of the entire world. The purpose of the Congress is to facilitate the conuuer-
cial intercourse of nations and to promote cordial relationships between them.
The Congress strives to secure harmony of action on all international ques-
tions affecting commerce and trade by enlisting the co-operation of various
nations to obtain uniform laws with reference to commercial matters.
The idea of bringi:^ together these great international conferences of
representatives of cbEimbers of commerce and business organizations of all
countries originated in Belgium. The Federation of Commercial and Indus-
trial Associations of Belgium took the initiative in 1904 by appointii^ an or-
ganizing committee for the purpose of laying the idea before the governments
and commercial organizations of all nations. The great International Ex-
pomtJon at Li^e in 1905 suppUed a most excellent occasion for holding the
I first sessions. The Federation of Commercial and Industrial Associations of
j Bel^um from the start received the hearty co-operation of the government
! officials of Belgium and of the Executive Committee of the Ei^Kwition at
Ligge. Ab a result of the work of the organizing committee some two hundred
bu^ess associations in many countries signified their wiUingnees to partici-
pate in such a great international gathering. The chambers of commerce of
I Austria, France, Germany, Great Britwn and Italy took the lead in offering
their support. A little later commercial organizations in Argentina, Brazil,
Bulgaria, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switz-
erland extended assurances of their intention to co-operate. The governments
of Belgium, China, Cuba, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Persia, Portugal,
Russia, Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America appomted dele-
gates to attend the first sessions. Assurances of kindly interest were received
from the governments of Argentina, Austria, Deimiark, Germany, Great
Britain, Greece, Hungary, Mexico and Roumania.
The First International Congress of Chambers of Commerce was held
under these happy auspices at Li^ge, Belgium, on September 7, 8 and 9, 1905.
It enjoyed the patronage of the Belgian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
and of the Belpan Minister of Industry and Labor. At the close of the meeting
the assembled delegates unanimously agreed to appoint a Permanent Com-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
6 .■■.*.::.'";.*■■■..■ '?*^'nEaNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
mittee in order that the Coogresaea might be convened at regular intervals
and continuity given to the work. As President of the Federation of Conuner-
cial and Industrial Afisociations of Belgimn, M. Louis Canon-L^piiind served
as President of the First Congress. He has continued as the presiding officer
of the five Congresses which have already been held. £mile Jottrand, Secre-
tary of the Federation of Conunerciai and Industrial Associations of Belgium,
served as the General Secretary of the First Congress and has continued as
General Secretary of the Permanent Committee up to the present time.
The Second Congress was held on September 21, 25 and 27, 1906, at Milan
under the patronage of His Majesty the King of Italy. The Honorary Presi-
dents were the Itahan Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture, Industry
and Commerce. This Coi^ress was held at the time of the International Ex-
position at Milan. At this Congress the Rules' governing the organization
' and procedure of these Congresses were adopted. It was determined to con-
vene sessions of the Congress every two years. Pending any further decision
in the matter, it was voted in confirmation of the decision of the Li^ Congress
that the headquarters of the Permanent Committee should be at Brussels, Bel-
gium. The Executive Committee of the Second Congress was appointed from
tiie Chamber of Commerce of Milan and from the Union of Italian Chambers
of Commerce, an organization compridi^ some ninety-six distinct associa-
tions. Grand VS. Angelo Salmoiraghi, who was at that time President of
both these organizations, served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of
the Milan Congress.
The Third Congress was held in Prague in 1908. It was opened in person
by its Honorary President, His Imperial Highness the Archduke Charles Francis
Joseph. The list of Honorary Presidents contained the names of some eight
Ministers and Ex-Miuistera of Stat«, as well as the Imperial and Royal Gov-
ernor of Bohemia, the Mayor of Prague and the President of the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry of Prague. To this Congress some seventeen govem-
mente officially accredited delegates. The Congress was held at Prague at the
time of the Exposition organized in celebration of the Jubilee of His Majesty
tiie Emperor Francis Joseph. The Executive Committee of this Congress was
appointed from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Prague and had
as its President, Count Henri Clam-Martinic.
The Fourth Congress was held at London June 21, 22 and 23, 1910, on the
invitation of the London Chamber of Commerce. It was opened by Right
Honorable Sidney Buxton, M. P., President of the Board of Trade, who served
as Honorary President of the Congress. The Honorary Vice-Presidents in-
cluded the governmental and commercial leaders of the British Empire, among
them the Prime Minister, Right Honorable H. H. Asquith, K. C, M. P.
Twenty-nine governments officially nominated delegates to the London Con-
gress. One hundred and eighty-one commercial organizations in nineteen coun-
tries were also represented. There were altogether in attendance some 435
> Foi text of Rules adopted at Milan, eee Appendix, page 303.
Digitized byGoOgIC
HOX. WILLIAM H. TAP
sidcnt of the United States of Amprica; President of A
.gle
I 2 i
DigilizedbyGoOgle
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 7
delegates. The Executive Committee having chaise of the arrangements of
this Congress was appointed from the London Chamber of Commerce and had
as its Ch^iman, Charles Charleton, Esq., Vice-President of the London Chantbei
of Commerce.
The Fifth Congress was held in Boston September 24, 25 and 26, 1912.
The invitation to hold the liifth Congress in Boston was extended to the Lon-
don Congress by the Boston Chamber of Conmierce and ninety-eight other
commercial oi^anizations representing all parts of New England. During the
summer of 1911 the Boston Chamber of Commerce arrai^ed for a party of
one hundred American business men to tour some of the principal countries
of Europe for the purpose of extending a formal invitation to the governments
and commercial oiganizations of the countries visited to send representatives
to the Boston Congress. From the outset the project of holding the Fifth
Congress at Boston received the hearty support of the Government of the
United States, as well as of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City
of Boston. On January 29, 1912, resolutions extending the governmental
recognition to the Congress and providing that official invitations be extended
by the Government of the United States were introduced into the Senate of
the United States by Senator Lodge of Massachusetts, and into the House of
Representatives by Congressman Peters of Boston. These resolutions were
passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President of the United
States in the following form:
JOINT RESOLUTION.
62d CoNGBEss, 2d Session.
"Besolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America m Congress Assembled, That the President of the
United States be, and he is hereby, authorised and requested to extend
to Governments of the commercial nations of the world an invitation
to be represented officially at the Fifth International Congress of
Chambers of Commerce and Commercial and Industrial Associations,
to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, September twenty-fourth to
twenty-eight, nineteen hundred and twelve.
That the Secretary of State ifl hereby requested to ask the Govem-
mente of the commercial nations of the world to notify the leading
btudnees organizations of their respective countries of this action by the
Congrees of the United States of America and suggest their co-operation."
Official invitations were also passed by the Legislature of the Common-
wealth of Massachusetts and by the City Government of Boston. Honorable
WiUiam H. Taft, President of the United States, headed the American Hon-
orary Committee, under whose auspices the Congress was held, and waa the
principal speaker at the official dinner to all the delegates. The Vice-Presidents
of the American Honorary Committee included the Secretary of State, the
Digitized byGoOgIC
8 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Secretary of Commerce and Labor, as weU as the Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Foreiga Relations and the Churman of the House Committee
OQ Foreign Affairs. The Ammcau Honorary Conmiittee included in its mem-
bership the diplomatic representatives in the United States of the principal
commercial nations, the governors of forty-seven of the states of the Union,
the presidents of the principal commercial oi^anizations of the entire country,
and about fifty of the business and industrial leaders of the nation. The
Boston Honorary Committee comprised a notable list of the leaders in com-
merce and industry of Metropolitan Boston. The official sessions of the Con-
gress were opened by Honorable Charles Nagel, Secretary of Commerce and
Labor for the United States of America. Thirty-three governments officially
appointed delegates to the Boston Congress. Three hundred and twenty com-
mercial organizations in 48 countries were represented. There were altogether
in attendance 780 delegates from 55 countries.
The delegates to these Congresses are of two classes: first, the official dele-
gates designated to attend the Congresses by the governments of the leading
commercial nations; second, the delegates appointed by the business organiza-
tions of the world which are affiliated with the Congress.
In the case of the five Congresses already held the government of the coun-
try in which the Congress is to meet has extended official invitations to the
other governments of the world to appoint delegates to the Congress and thus
extend their official recognition. Government del^atee take precedence at
the official sessions.
Commercial and industrial oi^anizations in any nation in the world are
welcome to membership in the Congress. In order to help defray the expenses
of the Permanent Committee and the Permanent Headquarters at Brussels
each affiliated organization pays a yearly subscription of fifty francs. This
annual fee entitles the affiliated organization to name three delegates to each
Congress. For each additional delegate which an organization may desire to
send to a Congress, an additional fee of twenty franca is payable. Individual
members of an affiliated business organization may be admitted to the Con-
gress as participants upon a payment of a fee of twenty francs. Only delegates,
however, are entitled to vote in the deliberations of a Congress.
There are at present 480 commercial organizations in fifty countries affifiated
with the Permanent Committee at Brussels and thus entitled to participate in
the International Congresses of Chambers of Commerce.'
) For list of affiliated orgtuuiatioiu, see ^pendix, page 117.
,y Google
il
il
3 ^
DigilizedbyGoOgle
O ,i
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
PBRUAHSNT COUHITTBE
la order to give continuity to the work it was determined at the Li^e
Congrese to organize a Pennanent Committee. This Committee is composed
of not more than three regular members and three alternates from each coun-
try. The members of the Permanent Committee are chosen by a vote of the
del^ates to a Congress from each of the different countries represented and hold
office for two years or until the time of the meeting of the succeeding Congress.
In countries where there is a national federation of chambers of commerce or
commercial and industrial associations the del^ates to a Congress may yield
to such a national organization the right to choose the members of the Permanent
Committee from that country.
The Permanent Committee decides upon the place at which the' next Con-
gress is to be held in the event of the previous Congress not having done BO.
The duties of the Pennanent Committee also include the making of arrange-
ments for the meetings and the carrying out of the decisions of the Congress.
An official program of topics to be discussed at the official sessions of each
Congress is determined by the Pennanent Committee. Each affiliated organiza-
tion is requested to forward to the Pennanent Committee any questions which
it may desire to have included in the official program, tc^ther with a report
giving th§ essential facts with regard to each question. The Permanent Com-
mittee gives careful confflderation and makes an investigation of all topics sug-
gested and places upon the official program all those which are decided to be
of sufficient international importance. For each topic placed upon the order
of the day the Permanent Committee designates a reporter. £ach reporter
prepares a report upon his topic, and this report is printed in various languages
and mailed to all affiliated commercial oiganizatlons and nominated del^ates
in advance of the Congress. At the sessions of the Congress the reporter opens
the discusfflon by briefly summarizing the report which has been previously
printed and distributed. The discussion is then thrown open to any delegate
or participant.
After the discusdoD of the topics upon the order of the day a vote of the
Congress is generally taken. If the vote taken by the Congress calls for defi-
nite action it then becomes the duty of the Permanent Committee to take
steps to make the decision effective. This is taken either by interesting some
govenmient to call a diplomatic conference of nations to consider the mattei-
in question or by entering into negotiations (Urectly with the diSerent govern-
ments in r^ard to it. The Permanent Committee has obtained its most notable
successes by interesting governments to call diplomatic conferences for the
purpose of security international co-operative action among the nations in har-
mony with the opinion expressed by the Congress. The Permanent Committee
has succeeded in this way in enlisting the support of five governments in ar-
ran^g for diplomatic conferences of nations. The governments which have
called such conferences and the topics considered at them are as follows: Hol-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
10 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
laud, on Uniformity of Leg^latiou on BUIb of Exchange; Bel^um, on Uni-
formity In CustomB Statistics; Switzerland, on a Fixed International Calendar
and a Permanent Day for Easter; Italy, on the Organization and Institution
of a Program for an International Maritime Union; and Germany, on the
Begulation of International E^xwitJons.
Pending any further deci^on of the matter by the Congress, the head-
quarters of the Permanent Committee are located at Brussels, where the present
office is at 10 rue de la Tribune.
concLUsion
In all countries the relations between commercial organizations which are
affiliated with the International Congress and the govenunents have always
been of an extremely cordial nature. The interest taken in the work of the Con-
gress by business men of the highest standing of Tarious nationalities together
with the official recognition vouchsafed by the governments of the leading
commercial nations have made possible the bringing about of many very benefi-
cial results affecting international commerce. The decisions of the Congress in
the matter of the topics discussed at its official sessions receive everywhere the
most serious consideration.
Beyond this, however, the bringing together of so many business leaders
from practically every nation of the globe and the intimate and cardial per-
sonal relationships which are thus engendered constitute a powerful agency
in the promotion of international understanding. And it is mutual understand-
ing that forms the firmest basis for international friendship and good will.
These great international commercial gatherings form one of the most potent
forces at work in the world to-day in the promotion of the cause of international
peace. They exemphfy and promote in a practical way the motto expressed
at the opening of the Li^ge Congress, "Commerce is Peace."
^rogranut of tfie ConBreftSuf
The importance and wide variety of the subjects discussed by these great
international commercial gatherii^ can be juc^ed from the prc^rams of the
five Congresses already held.
FIRST CONGRESS
The First Coi^ess considered the foUowii^ questions :
International Arbitration (extension of the powers of The Hague Arbi-
tration Court with the object of preventing war and the incalculable loss caused
thereby, not only to the belligerents, but to all commercial nations).
Chambers of Commerce (advisability of Chambers of Commerce being
ot^anized in every country).
Digitized byGoOgIC
GEORGE S. SMITH JOSEPH B. RUSSELL
Cfaairrnaii Boston Executive Committee President Boston Chamber of Commerce
ROBERT J. BOTTOMLV JAMES A. McKIBBEN
eretary Boston Eierutive Committee Secretary Boston Chamber of Commeri
MEMBERS OF BOSTON EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE'
I, ec.v, Google
ELMER J. BLISS BERNARD J. ROTHWELL
n General OrganiEing Committee ChairrDaa Committee on EntertiuDmeiit
JOHN H. FAHEY WILLIAM M. BAIN
Chainuau Committee on Tour Director of the Boston Chamber of Corami
MEMBERS OF BOSTON EXECtmVE COMMITTBB
i,ec.v,Goog[c
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 11
ChamberB of Commerce (establishment in all Chambers of Commerce of
Committees on Imports, Exports, Transports, Industrial Legislation and Com-
mercial Eklucation).
Commercial Federations (establishment of such in all countries of the world,
and the publication, by each, of a periodical te contain minutes and general
information).
Chambers of Commerce (advisability of records of the deliberations of
Chambers of Commerce being interchimged).
Chambers of Commerce (desirability of issuing a complete exposition of
Chamber of Commerce oi^anization and of the federations formed by them).
SECOBD CONGKESS
The Second Cougress considered the foUowii^ questions:
Postal Keform (reduction of ordinuy letter postage and that for printed
matter, samples, etc., uniformity in conditions and rules, suppreseioQ of the
surtax in cases of insufficient postage on letters).
Telephonic Service (institution of a Universal Telephone Union on the lines
adopted by the Universal Postal and Telegraph Unions).
International Law relating to Bills of Exchange (the adoption of a univer-
sal law).
International Arbitration (recognition of arbitration awards by foreign
Governments).
Maritime Routes (constitution of an International Maritime Union, with a
permanent executive).
Regulations for Exhibitions (creation of permanent committees in each
country to be federated as an international organization).
Customs Statistics (uniform classification for all countries).
Co-operation between Consulates and Chambers of Commerce.
THIRD CONGRESS
The Third Coi^re&s considered the following questions :
International Law of Bills of Exchange (proposal of the Duteh Govern-
ment to convene an International Conference for the purpose of preparing a
scheme of uniform international legislation).
Customs Formalities (reduction to what is strictly necessary and intemar
tional uniformity therein).
Customs Statistics (proposal of the Belgian Government to invite the ctuefs
of the customs departments of the various nations to a conference, in order to
secure international uniformity).
Variability of the Date of Easter.
Harmonization of Conmiercial Customs.
Regulations governing Exhibitions (reiteration of previous resolution).
Digitized byGoOgIC
12 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
International Maritime Union (proposal of the Italian Government to found
such an organization, draft program of the matters which might be considered
by such an organization).
Political Economy (institution of chairs of International Commercial Poli-
tics at the universities, technical schools, etc., where not already in existence).
FOURTH CONGRESS
The Fourth Congress considered the followii^ questions:
Establishment of a Fixed Date for Easter. Unification and simplification
of the Gr^orian Calendar.
Direct Eepresentation of Commerce and Industry at official conferences
and international economic congresses.
Development of Postal Unions and of the European Postal Union.
Unification of the Law regarding Checks.
Enforcement of Judgments (and Arbitration Awards) pronounced in for-
eign countries.
Advisability of all countries adhering to the Convention of Madrid, which
deals with the suppression of false marks of origin on goods.
Methods of Valuation for the compilation of Customs Statistics.
nPTH CONGRESS
The Fifth Congress considered the foUowii^ questions:
The Establishment of a Fixed Date for Easter, and the reform of the Calen-
dar.
Regulation of International Expositions.
The EstabUshment of an International Comt of Arbitral Justice for suita
between individuals and foreign States.
The Unification of Legislation relating to Checks.
International Postal Refonns in view of the next conference of the Univer-
sal Postal Union in 1913.
Commercial Statistics and the immediate institution of an International
Office.
The derirability of an international conference upon the validation of
Tbrough-order-notify Bills of Lading, and of legislation and other means for
making the system more effective.
The desirability of international uniformity of action in the matter of
Consular Invoices.
The desirability of an international conference on Prices and the Cost of
Living.
Arbitral Jurisdiction over all matters.
Digitized byGoOgIC
JAMES J. STORROW ROBERT WINSOR
CbainnaD Boaton Honorary Committee Chairman Committee on Finance
PROF, F. W. TAUSSIG JAMES T, WETHERALD
Chairman Committee on Program Chairman Comroillee on Publicity
IIEHBERS OF BOSTON EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
,y Google
F. FAITHFULL BEGG W. J. THOMPSON
Cbairmati of Council of London Chamber ot London Chamber of Comme
M. E. YONKER j, EDWARD WILDER
Chicago Aissociatioii of Commerce
MEMBERS OF PERHAITENT COMMITTEE
l,ec.v,G00(^[c
!3ctfif anb BSlesfolutiotuC of tfie Poaiton Congreaitf
September 24, 25 and 26, 1912.
I. The Establishment of a Fixed Date for Easter and a Unifoim Calendar
Resolution: The Congress renews the resolutioQ which it
passed at the preceding seseion in London in 1910 in favor of the
establislunent of a fixed date for Easter and of a uniform calendar.
H. An International Court of Arbitral Justice for Suits between Individuals
and Foreign States
Resoldtion: The Congress desires to record its opinion in favor
of the creation of an international court of arbitral justice for suite
between individuals and foreign States. It would be gratefiU to the
Government of the United States if the latter would take the ini-
tiative in calling a conference for this purpose.
m. The TTniflcation of Legislation relating to Checks
Resolution: The Congress is of the opinion that the unification
of the laws relatii^ to checks is desirable. The Congress recom-
mends to its members to organize a committee composed of one
delegate from each country, which shall meet at London and prepare
a report upon this question for consideration at the next Congress.
IV. Intenifltional Postal Refonns
Resolution: The Congress requests the Permanent Committee
to call to the attention of the Universal Postal Union the postal re-
forms formulated in the following propositions:
1. The rate fixed by the Universal Postal Union for the car-
riage of letters shall be reduced from 25 centimes to 10 centimes,
that is, to the tariff rate for domestic postage. This tariff rate shall
be collected by the weight or fraction of the weight of 20 grams
throughout the extent of the Postal Union, the weight being cal-
culated by the metric system.
13
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
2. The States subscribing to the Universal Postal Convention
of 1906, which, by virtue of item III of the final protocol of this
agreement, have retained the limits of weight and the rates of the
preceding postal agreement, shall renounce this exceptional prac-
tice.
3. In international postage the additional chaise collected by
the postal service for the absence or insufficiency of postage on ar-
ticles of letter mail shall be fixed uniformly at 5 centimes.
4. The postal administrations of the States belongii^ to the
Universal Union shall deliver to the addressees all sealed letters
which come to them from abroad, even when the exterior of the
letter does not conform to the postal r^ulations of the country of
destination.
5. The proviHOn of Article 55 of the Universal Postal Convention
I, reading that samples of merchandise must have no merchantable
value, shall be repealed. The limit of weight for samples shall be
raised to 500 grams.
6. For postal parcels the limit of weight shall be raised from 5
to 10 kilograms. By way of exception, the States of the Postal
Union whose domestic regulations forbid the sending of postal par-
cels of more than 5 kilograms may maintain this limit of weight.
7. The Universal Postal Convention shall establish a special
category for postal parcels of a maximum weight of 1 kilogram, which,
in coDsicJeration of a special rate, shall be shipped by a more rapid
route.
8. The Universal Postal Convention shall impose upon the
States of the Union a reasonable period for the delivery of postal
parcels varying according to the country of destination, beyond
which the postal administrations shall be responsible.
9. The administrations signing the agreement concerning postal
parcels shall be bound to accept the parcels at the value declared.
10. The rate for business papers shall be fixed as for printed
matter at 5 centimes for each 50 grams or fraction thereof (with-
out minimum rat«).
11. The acceptance of packages for collection on delivery shall
be obl^atory for all the countries of the Postal Union.
12. The postal service is responsible for packages sent subject
to collection on delivery which it has deUvered without having col-
lected the amount of the charge.
Digitized byGoOgIC
PROF. DR. MAX APT DR. ALF. GEORG
3I " Die Altcsten der Kaufmannschaft Viee-I
Frcaident Belgian Chamber of Comiuerco of Xew York, X. Y.
Poria
EUGfeNE ALLARD CHARLES S. HAIGHT
Tomiuerco of
OFFICIAL REPORTERS
Digitized byGoOgIC
WILBUR J. CARR PROF. IRVING FISHER
Director Ameripan Oonaular Service Yale University
OFnCIAL REPORTERS
DR. SOETBEER DR. MAX VON TAYENTHAL
MEMBERS OF PERMANENT COMMITTBB
I, ec.v, Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 15
V. Craniiiercial Statistics and tiie Immediate Listitution of an Intematioiial
Office
The Cokgbbss:
Recognizing the initiative taken by the Belgian Government in
bringing tt^ether at Brussels on September 19, 1910, delegates of
twenty-two States to seek for the means of introducing more hannouy
and unity in the tables of exchai^^ of the commerce of the whole
world;
Approving the decision taken at that conference to have estab-
lished for each one of these States in addition to its own commercial
statistics a t^mmon nomenclature under which may be grouped all
merchandise imported or exported under the heading of both weight
and value;
Expresses the wish that this common nomenclature may appear
with the briefest possible delay in the statistical tables of the govern-
ments represented at the conference, and hopes that the Belgian
Government may be willii^ to continue its co-operation for the
realization of this program;
Approves the proposition made at the Brussels Conference for
the creation of an international bureau of commercial statistics for
the purpose of centralizing information under al! useful headings to
give to the commerce of the whole world an annual summary, and
as soon as possible, a semi-annual summary and eventually, a
monthly summary of the commercial movements of the different
countries of the globe, arrtuiged in conformity with the grouping of
merchandise adopted by the afores^d conference;
Adopts the resolution that the Bel^pan Government invite
without delay all the States to conclude a convention assuring the
execution of the projected works.
VI. Tbrough-order-notify Bills of Lading
The Coi^ress approves the resolution now pending in the Con-
gress of the United States for establishii^ the liability of carriers on
bills of lading issued by their agents in international shipments.
The Congress views with satisfaction the sj^tem of a Central
Bureau for the validation of bills of ladii^ in international trans-
actions.
The Congress refers to the Permanent Conunittee the consid-
eration of an international conference for the purpose of promoting
uniformity in the laws governing the liability of international
Digitized byGoOgIC
16 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
Vn. Consular Invoices
The Congress approves in principle the propc^al for the unifor-
mity of consular invoices, and recommends to the interested States
for their consideration the form of consular invoice prepared by the
Fourth Conference of the Pan-Americaa Union.
The Congress approves the reconmiendation for moderate con-
sular fees and their strict limitation to amounts necessary to cover
the cost of the consular service.
Vm. The High Cost of Living
The Congress approves the proposition of convoking an interna-
tional congress on the question of the high coat of living, its increase,
it8 causes, its results and the measures and remedies possible to
improve the situation.
The Congress transmits the project and report of the Hunga-
rian National Commercial Association for the uniform compila-
tion of statistics of prices to the Pennanent Committe with the
. view of its taking it under consideration and referring it eventually
to an international conference.
IX. Arbitral Jurisdiction over all Matters
The Congress affirms its deeire to see convene, as soon as pos-
sible, official international conferences which will assmre between
nations the existence of arbitral jurisdiction conceived in the widest
sense of the term, and of a nature to assure an equitable solution of
all international disputes either between individuals of different States
or between the States themselves.
The Congress declares its adherence to the principle of a combi-
nation of nations, when and where possible, to endeavor to prevent
the atrocities of war.
Digitized byGoOgIC
Official i^Mffiiomc at ISotfton
ScPTEUBEB, 24, 25 and 26, 1912
FIRST SESSION
TcESDAT Morning
The first official session of the Congress was opened by George S. Suith/
Chairman of the Boston Executive Committee, President of the Boston Chamber
of Conunerce in 1911, who extended a hearty welcome to the delegates. He
introduced Hon. Charles Nagel,^ Secretary of Commerce and Labor for the
United States, who extended to the delegates a welcome on behalf of the Ckiv-
eminent of the United States of America. Other welcomes followed. His
Excellency Governor Eugene N. Fobs* spoke for the Commonwealth of Maasa-
chusetts; Hon. John F. Fitzgerald* for the City of Boston; President Harrt
A. Wheeler,* of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, for the com-
mercial organizations of the United States. Edward A. Filene,* Vice-President
of the International Congress, and a former director of the Boston Chamber of
Commerce, extended his welcome and introduced Lotus Canon-Lbgeand,'
President of the Fifth International Congress of Chambers of Commerce, who
responded for the delegates. Then began the first official session of the Congress.
President Louis Canon-Leorand presented the opening report upon the
first topic: "The establishment of a fixed date for Easter and the reform of the
calendar."* He called attrition to the fact that at the instance of the Per-
manent Committee the Govenunent of Switzerland had taken the initiative
in bringing about an official international conference upon this subject. He
further called attention to the fact that in June, 1912, the Congress of Cham-
bers of Commerce of the British Empire had unanimously passed a resolution
upon this subject. The question of calendar reform was discussed by F. Faith-
> For text of address of Chairman Smith, see Appendix, page 131.
■ For text of address of Secretary Nagel, see Appendix, page 132.
* For text of address of Governor Foss, see Appendix, page 134.
* For text of address of Mayor Fitigerald, see Appendix, page 135.
* For text of address of President Wheeler, see Appendix, page 138.
* For text of address of Vice-President Filene, see Appendix, page 140.
' For text of address of President Canon-Legrand, see Appendix, page 141.
■ For text of report upon a fixed date for Easter and the reform of the calendar, see Appen-
dix, p^e 144.
17
Digitized byGoOgIC
18 INTEENATIONAL CONQKESS OF
FULL Beqo,* Chairman of the Council of the London Chamber of Coounerce;
Ebnst Krausb,'" Vice-President of the Lower Austrian Association for the
Promotion of Handicraft; Alfbed Aslett" of the Barrow-in-Furness Cham-
ber of Commerce. The vote of the London Congress in favor of a fixed date
for Easter and of calendar reform was reaffirmed. Mr. Fileks presented a
letter from the Chinese delegates assunng the Congress of their hearty accord
with the vote taken.
Tdesdat Afternoon
The discussion of calendar reform was concluded in the early part of the
second session.
President CANON-LBQaAND submitted a report upon the regulation of in-
ternational expositions," calling attention to the fact that the German Govern-
ment was taking the initiative in calling an official international conference
on this subject for October, 1912.
Prof. Dr. Max Apt of Berhn submitted the official report on the second
topic of the order of the day: "The establishment of an international court
of arbitral justice for suits between individuals and foreign States," " and offered
a resolution in favor of the establishment of such a court. The principal
speakers upon this topic were R. S. Frasbb" of the London Chamber of Com-
merce; Dr. Louis Varjasst," Secretary of the Chamber of Conunerce and In-
dustry of Arad, Hungary; and EuotNE Allabd," Preadent of tb& Belgian
Chamber of Commerce of Paris. Robebto Pozzi'^ then addressed the Con-
gress on question of arbitration of suits between individuals of different States
and offered the following motion:
"The International Federation of the Patronal Associations of Weavers
and Manufacturers of Cotton express the keenest approbation of the proposi-
tion of "Die iiltest«n der Kaufmannschaft von Berlin" for the creation of an
arbitral tribunal for the differences between individuals and foreign States,
recommends to the attention of the executive committee of the Congresses the
study of the question concerning the unification of the diEFerent systems of
law, in the matter of arbitration between individuals, especially as regards the
validity or otherwise of the clause of compromise, and requests the Congress
to take into consideration this question, and to refer it to the desk so that it
may be presented to the next Congress after instruction."
■ For text of address o( Mr. Begg, see Appendix, page 145.
" For text and traaslatioa of addnas of Mr. Krause, see Appendix, page 147.
" For text of address of Mr. Aslett, see Appendix, page IfiO.
» For text of report on the regulation of international expositions, see Appendix, page 152.
■* For text and translation of the report of Dr. Apt upon an international aibitration
court for suits between individuals and foreign States, see Appendix, page 154.
" For text of address of Mr. Fraser, see Appendix, page 161.
>* Pot text and translation of address of Dr. Varjassy, see Appendix, pass 162.
X For text and translation of address of Mr. Allard, see Appendix, page 165.
*' For text of address of Mr. Foxzi, see Appendix, page 16S.
Digitized byGoOgIC
HON. JOHN BARRETT H. E. F. A. PEZET
Director- General of the Pan-American Union Ministerof Peru, WnshinKton. D, C; Delegate
of commeroial asBociations of Lima and
Callao
H. E. DR. CARLOS MARIA DE PENA
Digitized byGoOgIC
COUNT CANDIDO DE MENDES DI
ALMEIDA
Director Commercial Muwum of Rio de
Jaoeiro
PEDRO RAFAEL RINCONES ADOLFO BALLIVIAN
Connil Generul of Venciuela. Npw York, N. Y. Consul General of Bolivia, New York, N. Y.
GOVEHKMEWT DELEGATES
.V, Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 19
Lawrence V. Benet" of the American Chamber of Conimerce of Paris
u^ed the adoption of a resolution to include the arbitration of suite between
individuala of different countries.
Edwin D. Mead" of Boston urged the consideration of the question of
arbitration between the governments of different nations and submitted the
following resolution:
"The Fifth International Coi^ress of Chambers of Commerce, representing
the great interests of industry and commerce which are increasing so rapidly
the interdependence of nations and demand so imperatively for their advance-
ment and prosperity the peace and order of the world, urges the commercial
organizations of all countries to earnest efforts for the widest extension of ar-
bitration to the settlement of international disputes and for the earliest pos-
sible establishmrait of the Court of Arbitral Justice provided for by the last
Hague Conference."
This resolution was supported by Edwin Ginn" and Samuel B. Capbn" of
Boston and Frank D. La Lanne** of Philadelphia, and was discussed at length.
The Congress went on record in favor of the resolution proposed by Dr. Apt.
The President of the Congress ruled that the other two resolutions were not
admissible for action by the Congress as amendmente to the second question
on the order of the day, but were really new questions not on the order of the
day^ and therefore would have to be referred to the Permanent Committee to
be considered for the program of the next Congress.
The exact meanii^ of this ruling was discussed with the President by
Bernard J. Shoninger and William J. Thomas of the American Chamber of
Commerce of Paris.**
THQtD SESSION
Wednebdat Morninq
The third session was opened by a statement in English of Vice-Preudent
Filene" explaning the ruling of the President at the conclusion of the second
session. This was discussed by Bernard J. Shoninqeb'* and explwted in
German by Dr. Soetbeer,*' General Secretary of "Der Deutscher Handelstf^'
of Berlin. The President then called attention to the fact that members of the
Permanent Committee were elected by the delegates of the various countries
** For t«xt of address of Mr. Benet, see Appeodix, page 170.
*' For text of address of Mr. Mead, see Appendix, page 171.
" For text of address of Mr. Giim, see Appendix, page 172.
** For text of address of Mr. Oapen, see Appendix, page 175.
** For text of address of Mr. La Laooe, see Appendix, page 176.
" For t«xt of disousdon between the President and Measts. Sluininger and Thomas, see
Appendix, pages 177-183.
** For statement of Vice-Piesident Filene, see Appendix, page 185.
" For statement of Mr. Shoninger, see Appendix, page 186,
■* For text end translation of statement of Dr. Soetbeer, see Appendix, page 187.
Digitized byGoOgIC
20 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
represented at the Congreas, with the exception of those countries where there
exists a national federation of chambers of commerce, to which this right can
be granted.
Prof. Dr. Max Aft of Berlin presented his report upon the third subject
in the order of the day: "The unification of legislation relating to checks.""
The princip^ speakers upon this question besides Dr. Apt were Dr. Candido
DE Mendes de Alueida** of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; EuQiiNE Allabd" of
Paris; Charles Chbistophb*" of Ghent; F. Faithfdll Begq*" of London;
and Max Bjchtbr** of Berlin. General discussion followed which was par-
ticipated in by delegates from many countries." The Congress went unani-
mously on record in favor of the desirability of unification of the laws relating
to checks.
The second part of the resolution offered by Dr. Apt was as follows:
"A necessary complement to the creation of a universal law on bills of
exchange and checks is the creation of a high court at The Hague which will de-
cide as a court of last appeal controversies regarding questions involving the
universal law of bills of exchange and checks."
This second proposition was not adopted as a resolution by the Congress.
This session ended by a vote of the Coi^ress requesting that all motions
should be repeated in three languages, — French, English and Gennan.**
FOURTH SESSION
Wednesday Aftebnoon
At the opening of the fourth session on Wednesday afternoon it was agreed
that the fourth topic oa the order of the day with reference to Postal Reforms
should go over until Thursday morning. Euo£:ne Allaro then presented his
official report upon the fifth topic: "Commercial statistics tuid the immediate
institution of an international office."" This topic was discussed by W. M.
Hats," Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for the United States, R. S. Fhaber"
*' For text and translation of tlie report of Dr. Apt upon the unification of l^ialation
relating to checks, see Appendix, page 190.
>■ For text and tranelatioa of Dr. Almeida, see Appendix, page 204.
*' For text and translation of addreaa of Mr. Allard, see Appendix, page 210.
'* For text and translation of address of Mr. Christophe, see Appendix, page 212.
■I For text of addreaa of Mr. Begg, see Appendix, page 214.
■> For text and translation of tkddress of Mr. Richter, see Appendix, page 216.
" For general diacUBsion of the unification of legislation relating to checks, see Appen-
dix, pages 217-221.
** For discussion of the need of the stat«inent of the votes in the different languages,
see Appendix, pages 222-230.
■* For text and translation of the report of Mr. Allard on commercial etatiatics, see Ap-
pendix, page 231.
X For text of address of Assistant Secretar7 Hays, see AppokUx, page 233.
■* For text of address of Mr. Fraser, see Appendix, page 235.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 21
of London, Dr. Sobtbbeb*" of Berlin and B. J. Shoninqeb'* of PariB. The
Congrees unanimously went on record in approval of the initiative taken by
(he Belgian Government in bringing together an international conference upon
tlus subject at Bruasels in 1910, and expreeeed the wish that the Belgian Gov-
emment should invite without delay all States to conclude a convention
Bflsuring tmifonn international commercial statistics and the immediate insti-
tution of an international office.
Chableb S. Haiqht of New York then presented his official report upon the
sixth topic of the order of the day: "The desirability of an international con-
ference upon the validation of throi^-order-notify bills of lading, and of
legation and other means for making the system more efEective."*" This sub-
ject was discussed by Samdel E. Piza*> of Costa Rica. The Coi^ress went on
record in approval of the legislation on this matter now pending in the Congress
of the United States and referred to the Permanent Committee the consideration
of the question of aji international conference to promote uniformity in the
laws governing the liability of international carriers.
fifth session
Thdbsdat Morning
The fifth seamon opened with the presentation by Alfbbd Geobq of Geneva,
Switzerland, of his report upon the fourth topic on the order of the day: "In-
ternational postal reforms in view of the next conference of the Universal
Postal Union in 1913."" This topic was discussed by Hugo Manes" of the
Association of Export Houses, Frankfort-on-the-Main; Bernard J. Shon-
iNQBR** of Paris; A. Barton Kent" of London; E3duardo Aqdsti" of Bar-
celona; and Dr. Candido de Mendbs db AiiicBiDA*' of Bio de Janeiro. The
Congress adopted twelve specific propositions for postal reforms, and requested
the Permanent Committee to call them to the attrition of the UniverBal Postal
Union.
Thomas Sauuons, American Consul General at Yokohama, Japan, pre-
sented the official report prepared by Wilbur J. Carr, Director of the Ameri-
can Consular Service, on "The desirability of international uniformity of action
" For text and tr&nBlation of addreea of Dr. Soetbeer, see Appendix, page 236.
" For text of address of Mr. Shoninger, see Appendix, page 236.
'* For text of the report of Mr. Haight on through-order-notify bills of lading, see Appen-
dix, page 239.
*■ For text of address of Mt. Pita, tee Appendix, page 241.
* For text <rf report of Dr. Qeorg on poet&l refonna, see Appendix, page 245.
" For text and translation of address of Mr. Manes, see Appendix, page 253.
** For text of address of Mr. Shoninger, see Appendix, page 266.
<■ For text of address of Mr. Kent, see Apputdix, page 256.
*• For text of remarks of Mr. Agurti, see Appoidix, page 257.
" For text of lematb of Dr. Almeida, see Appendix, page 25$.
Digitized byGoOgIC
22 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
in the matter of consular inToices."** Williaii C. Downs/* an Americati
exporter, presented a specially prepared supplementary report upon this topic.
The question was further discussed by Dr. Edieuni) Kunobi/" Assistant Secre-
tary in the Royal Himgarian Ministry of Commerce; IiAwremce V. Benet**
of the American Chamber of Commerce of Paris; Honorable John Babbbtt,"
Director-General of the Pan-American Union; C. H. Catelli" of the Montreal
Chamber of Commerce; C. D. Mobton" of the London Chamber of Com-
merce; Dr. SoETBBEB** of Berlin; Dr. A. Kiesselbach "* of the Hamburg
Chamber of Commerce; Hugo Manes" of Frankfort-on-the-Main; Paui
Metbb'* of Nottingham; Joseph A. Lbckib'* of Walsall; His Excellency F. A.
Pezbt,'" Minister of Peru at Washington; and EuoiMB Allabd" of Paris.
The Congress adopted resolutions in favor of uniform consular invoices and
recommended for consideration the form of consular invoice prepared by the
Fourth Conference of the Pan-American Union. It approved the recommen-
datioD for moderate consular fees and their limitation to amounts necessary
to cover the coat of the consular service. On behalf of the Cuban delegation
Hie Ebtcellency Antonio Mabttn Riveho," Minister of Cuba at Washington,
stood sponsor for these resolutions.
Prof. Ibvinq Fisheb of Yale Univendty presented the report upon the eighth
topic of the order of the day: "The desirability of an international conference
on prices and the cost of living."** This question was discussed by Dr.
Editond Konosi** of Budapest; C. H. Canbt" of Chicago; Prof. F. W.
Taussig** of Harvard University; F. W. Cook" of Dudley, England; and
J. PiBEflON" of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce of Paris. The Con-
gress approved the proposition of convoking an international conference on
** For text of oddrees of Mr. Sammoiu on consular inToicM, see Appendix, page 280.
*■ For t«xt of report of Mr. Downs on consular invoices, see Appendix, page 262.
" For text of address of Dr. Eunoai, see Appendix, page 261.
** For t«xt of address of Mr. Benet, see Appendix, page 262.
** For text of addresa of Directoi^^Jkneral Barrett, see Appendix, page 267.
" For text and translation of address of Mr. Catelli, see Appendix, page 268.
** For text of address of Mr. Morton, see Appendix, page 269.
■* For text and translation of address of Dr. Soetbeer, see Appendix, page 269.
*• For text and translation of addreas of Dr. Kiesselbach, see Appendix, page 271.
" For text and translation of addresa of Mr. Manes, see Appendix, page 271.
** For text of address of Mr. Meyer, see Appendix, page 272.
** For text of address of Mr. Leckie, see Appendix, page 272.
w For text of address of His Excellency F. A. Penet, see Appendix, page 273.
*> For text and translation of statement of Mr. Allard, see Appendix, page 273.
•• For statement of His Excellency A. M. Rivero, see Appendix, page 274.
" For text of report of Professor Fisber upon an international conference on the coat
of living, see Appendix, page 274.
" For text of address of Dr. Eunosi, see Appmdix, page 277.
** For text of address of Mr. Canby, see Appendix, page 277.
•• For text of address of Professor Taussig, see Appendix, page 278.
•' For text of address of Mr. Cook, see Appendix, page 278.
" For text of address of Mr. Piereon, see Appendix, page 280.
Digitized byGoOgIC
VICENTE GONZALES RAMON ARIAS-FERAUD
Ecuador Panama
GOVERNMENT DELEGATES
Digitized byGoOgIC
DR. ABEL PARDO RICARDO SANCHEZ CRUZ
Consul General of Argentina, New York. N. Y. Consul General of Chile, New York. N. Y.
HOKACK N. FISHER DR. JORGE VARGAS
onaiil of Chile, Boston, Mnsa. Consul of Ccloniliia, B.istim, Mi
GOVERNMENT DELEGATES
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 23
the bi^ cost of living, and transmitted the report of the Hungarian National
CoDimercial Association for the harmonious compilation of statistics of prices
to the Fenntuient Conmiittee vith a view of its taking it under consideration
and referring it eventually to the proposed international conference.
At the conclusion of this discussion Loms Caj^ on-Leqrand, " President of
tbe Congrees, presented a further resolution upon the topic of international
arbitration which was as follows:
" The Congress affirms its desire to see convened as soon as possible official
international conferences, assuring between nations the existence of arbitral
jurisdiction in the widest sense of the term and of a nature to assure an equi-
table solution of all international controversies, either between individuals of
different States, or between the States themselves.
The Congrees declares its adherence to the principle of a combination of
nations when and where possible to endeavor to prevent the atrocities of war."
This resolution was discussed by R. S. Feasee'" of London; Sir John E.
BmOHAM" of London; Frank D. La Lanne" of Philadelphia; and Bbrnabd
J. Shoninqeb" of Paris. It was unanimously adopted by the Congress.
The question of the choice of the next place of meeting for the Congress
was referred to the Permanent Committee for decision. Invitations were pre-
sented from Barcelona, Spain; Geneva, Switzerland; Monaco; Amsterdam,
Holland; Leipzig, Germany; and Lisbon, Porti^al.
In appreciation of the hospitality extended to the delegates, Louis Lazabo ^*
of Brussels proposed a contribution for the poor of Boston. The official sessions
of the Congress concluded with expressions of appreciation for the welcome
extended at Boston. On motion of Sir Joseph Lawrence of London, seconded
by B. J. Shoninqer of Paris, a cordial vote of thanks was extended to the Presi-
dent of the Congress, Loms Canon-Leqrand.
On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings Special Fifth International
Congress editions of the "Boston Chamber of Conmierce News" were published
and delivered to the delegates before the start of the day's activities. In addi-
tion to the running account of the different events, these issues contained a com-
plete stenographic report of the official proceedings of the preceding day, and
on Friday morning contained the stenographic report of the addresses delivered
at the concluding banquet.
** For t«zt of addreaa of Pieeident Canon-Legrand on international arbitration, see
Appendix, page 281.
" For text of addreaa of Mr. Fraaer, see Appendix, page 283.
^ For text of addreaa of Sir John E. Binghaifl, see Appendix, page 284.
'* For text of addreaa of Mr. La Lanne, aee Appendix, page 285.
" For text of addieaa of Mr. Shoninger, see Appendix, page 285.
" For stateraent of Mr. Lazard, Bee Appendix, page 287.
Digitized byGoOgIC
DigilizedbyGoOgle
d)e Cbenttf at Boston
Thb official sessions of the Fifth International Congress of Chambers of
Commerce were held in the hall of the Copley Flaza Hotel, Bi^ton, on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday, September twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth and twenty-
sixth. The greater part of the delegates arrived in Boston on Sunday and
Monday, September twenty-second and twenty-third. The special tr^us,
which took a goodly share of the delegates from abroad on a tour of some of
the principal commercial and industrial centers of the United States departed
from Boston on Monday morning, September thirtieth. Thus slightly more
than one week was devoted to the official sesaons and entertainment in Boston.
The official headquarters and bureau of information were opened in the
Copley Plaza Hotel on Sunday, September twenty-second. At the official
headquarters there were constantly in attendance during the entire stay in
Boston representatives of the various Boston committees, and a corps of secre-
taries and interpreters entirely at the disposal of the delegates. During the
days upon which the delegates were arriving, all the trains entering the city
were boarded by representatives of the Boston committees at about the distance
of one hour's journey from Boston. The representatives of the Boston commit-
tees gave direcUons to the delegates on each train as to how to reach the offi-
cial headquarters, and advised them specifically of the hotel reservations which
had been secured for them by the Boston committees. Delegates who were
not informed of their hotel reservations in this manner were taken promptly
to their hotels upon application at the bureau of infonnation.
In accordance with previous advices, all delegates were directed to proceed
at once to official headquarters and register. During the first few days of the
Congress 780 officially appointed delegates from 55 countries made their re^s-
tration at headquarters. This number included delegates officially accredited
from the governments of 33 countries.
Immediately upon registration each delegate was presented with a large
folder. In this folder was a complete set in French, English and German of
the reports prepared by the official reporters upon each subject upon the order
of the day of the Congress, as well as the order of the day itself in the sixteen
languages which the cosmopolitan character of the Coi^ress made necessary.
There were besides included a guide-book of Boston; a handsomely leather-
bound book descriptive of the city, with the individual name of the det^ate in-
scribed upon the cover; a booklet of taxicab coupons for the use of the delegates
as
Digitized byGoOgIC
26 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
in joumeye about the city; cards admitting eacli del^ate to st least three
clubs; a small leather booklet containing announcements and tickets to the offi-
cial sessions and all entertainment events; booklets announcing the plans for
Boston and for the tour; a booklet containing a list of the del^ates, numbered
in the order of the receipt of the announcement of their appointmcait; and a
badge identifying the delegate by country and number.
Monday, Septbmbbb 23
At six o'clock on Monday evening all members of the Permanent Committee
met at dinner with members of the Boston Executive Committee, made and re-
newed many personal acquuntanceshlps, and talked over the general outline
of the plans for the official eessiona.
On Monday evening the Boston Chamber of Commerce tendered a formal
reception to all the delegates and their ladies who accompanied them. This re-
ception was held in the ball-room of the Copley Plaza Hotel from eight until ten
o'clock. It was a social occasion such as has seldom taken place. There were
in attendance over one thousand men and women represenfii^ practically every
country on tiie globe. The guests were received in the foyer of the ball-room
by President and Mrs. Joseph B. Russell of the Boston Chamber of Commerce,
Chairman and Mrs. Georqe: S. Smith of the Boston Executive Committee,
Chairman and Mrs. Jameb J. Storbow of the Boston Honorary Conmiittee,
Mayor and Mrs. John F. Fitzoerald of Boston, President and Mme. Loms
Canon-Lbgrand of the International Congress, Vice-President EdwARD A.
FiLENB of the International Congress, and Secretary and Mme. £!mile Jott-
RAND of the International Congress.
For two hours the delegates mingled and became acquainted with each
other as a preliminary to the week of business sessions and entertainment. In
the great ball-room a bufFet luncheon was served.
TuESDAT, Septbuber 21
The official opening of the Congress took place at 10.30 a.h. Tuesday morn-
ing in the ball-room of the Copley Plaza Hotel, which had been rearranged and
fitted out for this purpose. The first official session lasted until half past twelve
o'clock.
Between the morning and afternoon sessions of the Congress the delegates
were taken in special cars as the guests of the B(»ton Elevated Railway to
Cambridge by way of the subway and viaduct. The delegates were served a
buffet luncheon in the shops of the Company at Cambridge, and returned to
Boston by way of the new Cambridge tunnel.
Durmg the morning session the visiting women were entertained by a com-
mittee of women of Boston. They were taken on an automobile trip in
Digitized byGoOgIC
DELEGATES AT ONE OF THE OFFICIAL SESSIONS
SPECIAL EDITIONS OF THE "BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NEWS"
.gle
GROUP OF DELEGATES FROM BRITISH EMPIRE SAILING FROM BOSTON
GROl'P OF DELEGATES FROM JAPAN"
.V, Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 27
motor cars through the BoetoD Feus, through Cambrit^ and by the Paul
Kevere route to Lexington and Concord. After the trip th^ whole party were
the guests of Mrs. Joseph B. Russell, wife of the President of the Boston
Chamber of Commerce, in her Cambridge home.
The members of the Congress reassembled for the second official session
at half past two in the afternoon and adjourned at five o'clock.
In the evening the del^;ateB and their wives and daughters assembled in
Sjnnpfaony Hall and listened to a concert by members of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra led by Gostav Stbube. The delegates enjoyed a most interesting
program made up of selections from the composers of many coimtries. The
delegates were seated at round tables on the floor of the hall and were served
with light refreshments during the evening. In the galleries were members
of the Boston Chamber of Commerce and their families.
WnDNEsnAT, Septembeb 25
On Wednesday the third official session lasted from ten until one o'clock.
Between the morning and afternoon sessions an official photograph of the
delegates to the Congre^ was taken in front of the Copley Plaza Hotel. A
temporary stand had been erected and on it were seated the something over
seven hundred delegates who were present at the time the official photograph
was taken. A copy of this photograph was presented to each delegate.
From three until half past four o'clock was devoted to the fourth official
session of the Coi^ess.
During Wednesday afternoon the ladies went by automobile for a vimt to
Wellesley College, where the party was received by Mira Ellen F. Pendleton,
its president. The visit to the college was followed by a reception in the Italian
garden of the Walter Hunnewell estate. Earlier in the day many of the ladies
went shopping and took luncheon at the Assembly Club. Another group went
for an automobile ride through the Middlesex County towns, stopping on the
return trip at the residence of Mr. James J. Storbow in Lincoln.
In the evening there was no official function, the time being set apart for
the opportunity of home, club and other mtimate gatherings.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Honorable John Barebtt, the Director-
General of the Pan-American Union, gave a dinner at the Copley Plaza In honor
of the delegates attending ihe Congress from the Latin-American countries,
and Coimt CANnino Msndes db Alueida, Editor of the "Jomal do Brasil"
of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. About seventy guests sat down at round tables in
the small ball-room. Mr. Barrett stated that he entert^ed these delegates
in his capacity as the executive officer of the Pan-American Union, an inter-
national organization m^ntaiued at Washington by all the American Repub-
Ucs for the purpose of developing commerce, friendship and peace amoi^ them.
At the American House there was held an informal reunion and dinner by
Digitized byGoOgIC
28 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
many of those who made the Eurox)eaii tour arranged by the Boeton Chamber
of Commerce in 1911, together with those delegates whom they met on their
journey.
Thubsdat, September 26
The fifth and concluding official session opened on Thursday monung at
about ten o'clock and adjourned at twenty minutes past one.
In the evenii^ the CoiMEress concluded its officiaJ sessions at a great dinner
t« the President of the United States and all delegates to the Congress in the
banquet hall of the Copley Plaza Hotel. Over one thousand men from all parts
of the world were seated at the tables for the dinner. The reception started
at 6.30 P.M. and each delegate was given an opportunity to meet Honorable
William H. Taft, President of the United States. The dinner began promptly
at 7.30 P.M. President Joseph B. Rubbelli of the Chamber of Commerce pre-
sided. The speakers were: On beiialf of the United States, Hon. William H.
Tajt,* President of the United States; on behalf of the Commonwealth of Mas-
sachusetts, Hon, Eugene N, Fobs,' Governor of Massachusetts; and on behalf
of the City of Boston, Hon. John F, Fitzqekald,* Mayor of Boston. On behalf
of our distinguished guests, M. Louts Canon-Leorand,' President of the Per-
manent Committee and President of the Fifth International Congress of Cham-
bers of Commerce; Grand Ufi. Anqelo Salmoiraohi,* President of the Milan
Chamber of Commerce, representing the hosts of the Milan Congress; and Mr.
F. FaithfullBeog,' Chairman of the Council of the London Chamber of Com-
merce, representii^ the hosts of the London Congress. This great dinner in
honor of the President of the United States and the delegates, while closing
their routine work, was the opening event of the festivities on the eve of the tour
of some of the great industrial centers of tliis country. It brought to a magni-
ficent close the business of the International Coi^ess when the President of the
United States congratulated the members upon their work in the sessions, and
extended to the visitors a welcome to the ooimtry at lat^e on behalf of the
people, the government and the Congress of the United States.
Fbidat, Septehbeb 27
Before nine o'clock on Friday morning two hundred automobiles belongii^
to members of the Boston Chamber of Commerce were lined up in Copley
Square. Filled with delegates and members of the Boston Chamtier of Com-
' For full teict of address of Freeident Russ^ of the Boston Chamber of Commerce,
see Appendix, page 291.
■ For full text of address of President Taft, see Appendix, page 291.
* For full text of address of Governor Foss, see Appendix, page 293.
* For full text of address of Mayor Fitigerald, see Appendix, page 295.
' For full text and translation of address of President Canon-L^rand of the Inter-
national Congrees, se« Appendix, page 298.
* For full text of address of Grand UfT. Salmoiraghi, see Appendix, page 300.
' For full text of address of Mr. B^g, see Appendix, page 301.
Digitized byGoOgIC
DigilizedbyGoOgle
„Googlc
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 29
merce they left a few at a time from half pset nine until half past ten o'clock.
A majority of the delegates were taken down the "North Shore," the seashore
to the north of Boston famoue as a summer resort, where the President of the
United States ajid the diplomatic representatives of many countries have their
summer houses. Over five hundred went on this trip. About half of them
stopped at Lynn and inspected the plant of the General Electric Company.
The rest of the delegates continued on to Beverly to the plant of the United
Shoe Machinery Company, where they were met by officials of this organizar
tion. The plant was thrown open to the visitors, who traveled through the
long, finely lighted buildings gazing with keen interest at the operations of
manufactiuing shoe machinery.
By the time the plant had been looked over thoroughly, the delegates who
had stopped at Lynn began to arrive. The whole party was then taken to the
country club, which has been presented by the United Shoe Machinery Com-
pany to its employees. On the athletic field a lai^e rectangular tent had been
erected where luncheon was served to the delegates. In the early afternoon
delegates were taken on an automobile tour along the picturesque "North
Shore,"
On Friday the delegates who did not make the North Shore trip divided into
three groups and went on the following special excursions: One party, arranged
under the auspices of the Waltham. Board of Trade, went to Waltham to in-
spect the plant of the Waltham Watch Company. Another group, under the
auspices of the New England Shoe and Leather Association, went on a long
automobile tour about the city, concludii^ with an inspection of the Thomas
G. Plant Shoe Factory, at Roxbury. Another group, under the auspices of
the Lowell Board of Trade, made the journey to inspect the Lowell Textile
School and a visit to some of the important textile mills at Lowell.
A special trip was arranged for the ladies. They went In automobiles
through the North Shore country to Cape Ann, where they were entertained in
Gloucester at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Hats Hauuond.
In the evening various ijieater parties and special entert^ainments were ar-
ranged.
Delegates who remained at the Copley Plaza Hotel were given the most
spectacular entertainment of their visit, and in this the general public shared.
At 8.30 F.U., with a wild clatter of hoofs, a clan^i^ of bells and shrieks of «ren
whistles, apparatus of the Boston Fire Department was rushed into Copley
Square. Engines were coupled to hydrants and began to pump, hose was run
through the streets, ladders were thrown ag^nst the Copley Plaza Hotel and
buildings opposite on the Square. The water-tower was run up near the Public
Library. The delegates were given a concrete illustration of how a fire is handled
in Boston, but there was no fire.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
Saturoat, September !
At ten o'clock on Saturday morning the delegates boarded the steamer
" Rose Standlsh " for an Inspection of Boston harbor. The trip was first made
around the inner harbor, and the first landing was made at the terminals and
docks of the Boston & Albai^ Railroad. Then the trip was continued to the
outer harbor and the delegates were taken to the yards of the Fore River Ship
Building Company at Quincy, where they were entertained at luncheon. The
return was made through the outer harbor and then by the main ship channel
to Rowe's Wharf.
Delegates were taken in electric cars from the wharf to the Mechanics'
Building for a private view of the Boston 1912 Electric Show at four o'clock.
This was a really notable electric exposition, and the private opening afforded
an exceptional opportunity to inspect the various exhibits.
On Saturday afternoon a group of delegates were the guests of the Harvard
Athletic Association at the football game in the Harvard Stadium between
Harvard University and the University of Meune.
SvNDAT, Septeubeb 29
On Sunday morning a private opening of the Boston Art Museum at eleven
o'clock was attended by large groups of the delegates. In the afternoon at half
past two the delegates left the Copley Plaza Hotel in automobiles for a trip
through the Boston and Metropohtan Park systems. The evenii^ was given
over to farewells.
At about half past nine o'clock on Monday morning about four hundred of
the delegates left Boston in three special trains for a tour of some of the
principal commercial and industrial centers of the United States.
Digitized byGoOgIC
^our tA tfie ^niteto Stated
The American tour of the foreign delegates at the conclusion of the official
seeraons in Boston was one of the most notable as well as one of the most pleas-
ant features of the Congress. The del^ates taking this tour represented
practically every nation on the globe and formed by far the lai^est and most
cosmopoUtan gathering of business men of the world ever taking a long railroad
journey together. The Conmiittee on Tour, representing the Boston Chamber
of Commerce, arranged on itinerary which afforded a remarkable opportunity
for inspecting some of the most important commercial and industrial enter-
prises of the United States and for impr^sing upon the distinguished guests
the efficiency and stability of the enterprises, as well as affording a concrete
impression of the wonderful resources of this country.
Altogether about four hundred persons left Boston on the special trains,
and over three hundred of this number completed the journey. In this number
were forty-three women, wives and daughters of some of the delegates.
The delegates visited ten of the principal cities of the United States and
traveled some 2250 miles in a period of three weeks. Special trains left Boston
on Monday morning, September 30, and arrived in New York on Thursday
morning, October 17. The entertunment in New York occupied two days,
and the party finally broke up on Saturday, October 19, 1912.
The Passenger Department of the Boston & Albany RaUroad arrai^d the
det^ls relating.to the transportation of the whole journey. Six different traffic
lines were used, — the Boston & Albany R^lroad; the New York Central &
Hudson River Railroad; Michigan Central Railroad; Cleveland, Cincinnati,
Chicago and St. Louis Railway; the Pennsylvania Ccunpany and the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad. The first four of these roads were parts of the New York Cen-
tral Lmea, while the latter two were parts of the Pennsylvania system.
Every delegate was supplied with an itinerary book, prepared and published
by the Boston & Albany Rulroad, containing the time-table of the tour, the
names of every person in the party of delegates and the names of the Committee
on Tour. This booklet also contained a map of the United States showing the
route of the tour of the party. The special trains were placed at the disposal of
foreign delegates by the Boston Chamber of Commerce. Each city which was
visited, however, bore a share of the expense.
The party left Boston at about half past nine on Monday morning, Sep-
31
Digitized byGoOgIC
32 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
tember 30. Three special tr ainB were used at the commencement of the jour-
ney. The first section had nine stateroom cars and a buSet library car. The
second section had ten stateroom cars and a buffet library car. The third sec-
tion had eight stateroom cars and a bufFet library car. Alt<%ether there were
thirty-two cars for the commencement of the journey. Inasmuch as the trip
from Worcester to Buffalo was to be made during the following night, the
trains in which the party left Boston were composed entirely of stateroom and
drawii^-room cars. These cars constituted the most luxurious form of car for
night travel now in operation in the United States. The trip from Boston
to Worcester was forty-five miles in length and occupied about one hour's time.
WORCESraR
In Worcester the delegates were the guests of the Worcester Board of
Trade. The four hundred del^ates entertained there were divided into five
groups and taken about the principal industries uid points of interest in the
city in one hundred and fifty automobiles contributed by citizens. The ladies
were entertained by the members of the Worcester Woman's Club. Delegates
in each group were luncheon guests at one o'clock of the following: Hon. James
LoOAN, General Manager of the United States Envelope Company; Mr.
Matthew J. Whittall; The Norton Company; and the Royal Wokcesteb
CoBSET Company. At the conclusion of the afternoon tours the delegates were
guests at a complimentary banquet in the State Annory, under the patronage
of the Commonwealth attended by Lieutenant-Governor Robert Luce,
members of the Governor's Staff and Council and other state and city officials,
concluding at nine o'clock in the evening, when the delegates resumed their
western journey.
The delegates arrived in Buffalo at twenty minutes past ten the following
morning. The distance covered during the mght was 453 miles. In the morning
two dining cars were attached to each of the three sections, and the delegates
took breakfast on the truns before their arrival in Buffalo.
BUFFALO
In Buffalo the delegates were the guests of the Buffalo Chamber of Com-
merce. The delegates were met by a special committee from this organization
and were immediately taken in taxicabs to their hotels, where rooms had been
previously assigned to them.
In the afternoon a large number of the delegates visited some of the great
manufacturing plants for which Buffalo is noted. Others made a tour of the
parkways and principal streets of Buffalo ending at the Cotmtry Club, where a
polo game was played, the competing teams representing the Country Clubs of
Buffalo and Toronto. In the evening a dinner was given at the Lafayette Hotel
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 33
by over one hundred of Buffalo's most dlstu^uished business men and Chamber
of Commerce m^nbers.
At the same time the women of the party were entertained at dinner at the
Twentieth Century Club for Women, followed by a theater party at the Teck
Theatre.
At 9.20 o'clock Wednesday morning, October 2, the guests left for Niagara
Falls, where most of the day was spent in inspecting the hydro-electric plants,
the great cataracts and the factories. This short trip between Buffalo and Ni-
agara Falls was made in New York Central day coaches for the piu^ose of
showing the del^ates this form of travel in the United States.
The delegates arrived at Niagara Falls at ten minutes past ten and went
immediately to inspect the plant of the Niagara Power Company. The entire
party then took the trip of something over twenty miles on the Niagara Gorge
B^koad. This railroad affords the best opportunity of seeing the wonderful
Niagara Gorge just below the great cataract. The cars on the Niagara Gorge
Railroad were placed at the disposal of the delegates through the courtesy of
the Boston and Buffalo Chambers of Commerce. Luncheon was taken at the
International Hotel, and the afternoon was devoted to further inspection of the
industrial plants. At five o'clock the delegates left Niagara Falls for Detroit.
The distance ia 229 miles, and the trains reached Detroit shortly after ten o'clock
in the evening. This part of the journey was made in chair cars of the Pullman
Company.
DETROIT
In Detroit the delegates were the guests of the Detroit Board of Commerce.
A committee of the Board met the party at Niagara Falls, and en route to De-
troit the delegates were presented with souvenir booklets of Detroit. Arriving
in Detroit the visitors were met by members of the Entertunment Committee
and were taken in special street-cars to their respective hotels.
The following moming at ten o'clock the entire party was taken in automo-
biles to GroBse Pointe and Belle Isle. One hundred and thirty-eight automobiles
were required to convey the foreign delegates and the one hundred members of
the Board of Commerce Entertainment Committtee. From Belle Isle the
automobile cavalcade moved along East Grand Boulevard to the Packard
Motor Company's plant, where a group photograph of the delegates was made.
The Packard Motor Company entertained the party at a very deUghtfuI lun-
cheon and concert by the Packard band. During the luncheon the delegates
were presented with morocco-boimd booklets by the Packard Company. After
luncheon the delegates were taken on a trip of inspection throi^h the Packard
factories. At half past three the delegates entered their automobiles again and
were driven to the Burroughs Adding Machine Company's plant, where they
made a trip of inspection and received handsome souvenir ash trays and leather
portfolios. In the evening a banquet in honor of the delegates was held at Hotel
Pontchartr^.
Digitized byGoOgIC
34 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Oq the following morning, Friday, October 4, the delegates visited wluch-
ever of the manufacturing plants they had elected to visit on their way from
Buffalo. At noon the entire party gathered and boarded the Steamer "Bri-
tannia," which made a trip up into Lake Saint Claii, and then back and down
the Detroit Kiver, returning and lauding near the rfulroad station at half
past three o'clock. Luncheon was served on board. After luncheon the two
orchestras supplied music for those who wished to dance. A splendid exhibition
by the fire boat "James Battle" was given for the entertainment of the guests.
A special Woman's Committee arranged special entertainment for the ladies
accompanying the delegates. On October 3 a reception was given at the Hotel
Pontchartrain at eleven in the morning, and following this an automobile ride,
stopping at the Detroit Club for Itincbeon. At four o'clock there was a recep-
tion at the Twentieth Century Club. There was a special dinner at the Hotel
Pontchartrain followed by a theater party at the Detroit Opera House. On
Friday the ladies joined the boat trip on the "Britannia."
On disembarking the entire party at once boarded the special chiur-car
trains of the Pullman Company and left Detroit for Chicago at four o'clock on
Friday afternoon, October 4. The distance from Detroit to Chicago is 285
miles, and the special trmns reached Chicago at about half past ten on the
evening of Friday, October 4.
CHICAGO
The del^ates were met at the trwns by the Chicago committee and es-
corted to their hotels. In Chicago the delegates were the guests of the Chicago
Association of Commerce and the Chicago Board of Trade, in co-operation with
other busmess associations and bu^ess men of the City of Chicago.
The schedule of the entertainment in Chicago was as follows:
Saturday:
Visit to Board of Trade.
Luncheon at Hotel La Salle.
Football game.
Banquet at Coi^ress Hotel.
Sunday;
Church services.
Automobile tour of parks and boulevards.
Dinner, mformal, at South Shore Country Club.
Monday:
Excursions to: Union Stock-Yards.
Steel Works at Gary.
Western Electric Company works.
Art Institute, Public Library and Department Stores.
Hull House.
Sears, Roebuck & Company plant.
Digitized byGoOgIC
GROUP OF DBLEGATK.SAT HOME OF EX-MAVOR JAMES LOGA^I
Worrpstor. Mass., Rpi.tpmlxT 30. 1913
DIN'NER OP MEMBERS OF COSMOPOLITAN CLUB
Pittaburgh, PrnnnytvaDia, October tl, 1912
„Google
DigilizedbyGoOgle
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 35
Luncheon to women of delegation by Chicago Woman's Club.
Afternoon tea to the women at store of Marshall Held & Company.
Luncheon by the packing interests to 250 delegates, Florentine
Room, Congress Hotel, before departure for stock-yards.
Farewell dinner at Hotel Blackstone.
The first day of the stay in Chicago began with a visit to the Board of Trade,
the world's largrat grain and provision exchange, where opportunity was given
the viEdtors to view the famous wheat pit in operation. Followii^ the inspec-
' tion of the Board of Trade the delegation was entertained at luncheon at
the Hotel La Salle, beii^ welcomed by the Hon. Cabteb H. Habbison,
Mayor of Chicago, and PreEddent Euqene IT. Kiubabk of the Chicago Asso-
ciation of Conmierce. President Canon-Leqrand of the International Congress
replied for the delegation. After luncheon the party was taken by automobiles
to witness a football game between the Universities of Chicago and Indiana at
the Chicago University football grounds. In the evening the del^ates attended
a formal banquet given in their honor by the combined Chicago organizations
in the Gold Room, Congress Hotel, and were addressed by the Honorable
Chables 8. Dbnben, Governor of Illinois, and others. M. Canon-Lbqband,
Preadent of the International Congress, replied for the delegation.
Sunday morning the visitors were at liberty to attend such religious ser-
vices as they preferred and after luncheon were taken on an automobile tour of
Chicago's boulevards and parks, a ride of some thirty-five miles, ending at the
South Shore Country Club, where an informal dinner was served.
On Monday the delegation divided itself into various parties, selecting
such industrial trips, previously planned, as appealed to them, visits Iwing made
by qwcial trains to the Union Stock-Yards, the great steel works at Gary, and
by automobile to the lai^e plant of the Western Electric Company at Haw-
thorne. Other parties visited the Art Institute, the Chicago Public Library
and the leading department stores. Those mterested in settlement work were
given an opportunity to explore Hull House and were mformally entertained
by Miss Janb Addams at afternoon tea. The o£Sces and establishment of Sears,
Roebuck & Company, said to be almost the last word in organization and effi-
ciency, were visited by another party. On Monday the women of the delegation
were ^ven a luncheon by the women of Chicago at the Woman's Club, and
were later entertained by Marshall Field & Company at their retul establish-
ment. Preceding the trip to the Stock- Yards, which waa taken by some 250
of the delegates, the packing interests entertained the party at limcheon in
the Florentine Room, Congress Hotel.
On Monday evening the three days' visit ended with an informal dinner at
the Blackstone Hotel, which formally concluded Chicago's duty as host, but
iiie personal and informal hospitality did not finish until the last of the delegates'
special trains left Park Row Station for Cincinnati a little before midnight.
On leaving Chicago, Monday evening, the delegates took the second and
Digitized byGoOgIC
36 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
last night-journey of the entire tour. This night-journey was made in the same
compartment cars previously used between Worcester and Buffalo. The dis-
tance to Cincinnati is 304 miles, and the del^ates arrived at half past seven
on the morning of Tuesday, October 8.
CIHCINirATI
In Cincmnati the delegates were the guests of the Joint Committee of the
Cincinnati Business Men's Club, the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and the
Cincinnati Commercial Association. The Reception Committee met the party
at the station and escorted them to their hotels in automobiles.
At ten o'clock in the momjng the delegates were met at the Hotel Siuton
and taken on an automobile ride about the city, visiting Eaton Park, Walnut
Hills, Avondale and Clifton. At one o'clock Iimcheon was served at the Coun-
try Club. In the afternoon automobiles were placed at the disposal of the
visitors, and special trips were taken to the Art Museum, the Zoo and to the
Rookwood Pottery and various other factories and business houses. At half
past six in the evening a banquet was tendered all the delegates at the Business
Men's Club.
At half past eight on Wednesday morning, October 9, the del^ates were
escorted to the trains in automobiles. At nine o'clock the special trains, made
up of chur cars of the Pullman Company, left Cincinnati for Dayton. The
distance is 56 miles, and the delegates arrrived in Dayton at quarter of eleven.
DAYTON
In Dayton the delegates were the guests of the Dayton Chamber of Com-
merce and the National Cash Register Company. A reception committee from
the Dayton Chamber of Commerce went to Cincinnati to meet the delegates.
At the Union Station flags of all nations were flying. Thousands of Dayton-
ians greeted the distinguished visitors. Automobiles were wuting to carry the
foreign friends over the principal down-town streets, out to the National Cash
Register Company's plant. Across the streets, at mtervals of thirty feet or
thereabouts, streamers reminded the viutors of their native lands. The flags
of the nations of the world bespoke Dayton's welcome.
In honor of the occasion the schools in the down-town district were dis-
missed, and the school children lined the streets. In every right hand was a
kerchief or an American flag.
The National Cash Register Company's buildings were bedecked with large
and handsome flags. Every one of the axty-three hundred employees stood with
flag in hand, and a mighty shout of greeting went up when the cars passed. A
luncheon was served at twelve o'clock in the Officers' Club of the National Cash
Register Company on the ninth floor of the Office Building, where six hundred
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 37
and more dined together, and was followed by an inspiring meeting in the Hall
of Industrial Education. There was told the story of Dayton, the story of the
Wright Brothers who conquered the ur and the story of the National Cash
R^pster Company. These stories were painted by word and picture.
The stay in Dayton lasted six hours. At half past three the autos returned
to the station, and the Citizens' Committee of One Hundred, the Bicycle Club,
the members of the Welfare Department of the National Cash Register Com-
pany and the Conmiittee from the Dayton Chamber of Commerce were
present to say farewell. At four o'clock the trains pulled out of Dayton for
Pittsburgh. The distance is 261 miles, and the delegates reached Pittsbui^
ehortiy after ten o'clock in the evenii^.
prrrsBORGH
Several members of the Pittsbui^ Committee met the truns on route and
other members of the Committee were at the Union Station and escorted the
delegates to their hotels in special street-cars. The delegates were the guests
of the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Pittsburgh.
On Thursday, October 10, the delegates boarded the Steamer "Sunshine"
at ten o'clock in the morning and were taken on a daylight trip on the rivers
past "milea of mills," landing at Munhall. The delegates were taken in a special
train on a tour of inspection of the great steel mills at Homestead. The dele-
gates boarded the boat again m front of the works, and luncheon was served on
the river. The del^ates landed at Monongahela Wharf at four o'clock in the
afternoon. In the evening a banquet was tendered the delegates at the Fort
Pitt Hotel, after which special street-cars took the delegates to the Fitts-
biu^ Exposition and concert by the Thomas Orchestra.
The next day the delegates were taken for an inspection of the Carnegie
Institute Museum, Art Galleries, Sculpture and Music Halls, and the Carnegie
Institute of Technology. This was followed by an inspection of the Heinz
Pickling and Preserving plant, where luncheon was served. An automobile
tour was taken through the re^dential section of the city. One hundred and
fifty automobiles were employed, escorted by special poUce on motor cycles.
In the evening there was a reception and dance at the Hotel Schenley.
On Saturday morning, October 12, the delegates were escorted to the
special chair-car truns which left Pitteburgh at nine o'clock for Washii^ton.
The distance is 369 miles, and the trains reached Washington at about half past
six in the evening. This all day trip on the chur cars was a very interestii^
feature of the tour and was the only considerable daylight journey. The trains
passed through very diversified country. The splendid views in the mountainous
country, the trip around the Horse-Shoe Curve and the brief stops at Altoona,
Harrisburg and Baltimore constituted altogether a most mterestii^ day.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
WASHINGTOn
In Washington the delegates were the guesta of the Washington Chamber
of Conunerce. They were met at the Union Station at Washington and escorted
to their hotels.
On Simday morning, October 13, the delegates were taken in sight-seemg
automobiles on a tour of the city. In the afternoon the United States Capitol,
the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the National Museum and the Library of Congress
were specially opened.
On Monday morning the White House was opened for the delegates for two
hours. In the afternoon the delegates were taken on a steamboat ride down the
Potomac to Moimt Vernon, the home and tomb of George Washington. In the
evening there was a reception in the Hall of the Americas in the splendid building
of the Pan-American Union.
On Tuesday morning the del^ates were taken to the station in auto cars.
The trains left Wasiiingtou for Ptiiladelphia at half past nine. The distance
to Philadelphia is 136 miles, and the del^^tes arrived there about quarter of
PTTTT.ATmT.T l TlTA
In Philadelptiia the del^ates were the guests of the conuneFcial oi^anizar
tions of the city. The following named commercial bodies participated: Board
of Trade, Bourse, Builders' Exchange, Chamber of Commerce, Commercial
Exchange, Commercial Museum, Drug Exchange, Grocers & Importers' Ex-
change, Hardware Merchants and Manufacturers' Association, Lumbermen's
Exchange, Manufacturers' Club, Maritime Exchange and the Merchants and
Manufacturers' Association.
The delegates walked from the Broad Street Station to Wanamaker's, where
the whole party was the guest of Mr. John Wanamaker at luncheon. In the
afternoon the party was taken to the Commercial Museum. In the evening
the delegates were guests at various theater parties and a large number of them
inspected some of the newspaper printing machinery of the city.
On Wednesday, October 16, there was a visit to Independ^ice Hall after
which the delegates boarded a river steamer and visited the Navy Yard and the
yards of the New York Shipbuilding Company and Cramp & Sons. Prom
Cramps' the party went through Stetson's and the Baldwin Locomotive Works,
and thence to the Philadelphia Country Club wliere they were guests at dinner
of Mr. Frank D. La Lanne.
On ThiuBday morning, October 17, the special Pullman chfur-car trams
left the Broad Street Station at nine o'clock for New York City. The distance
is 92 miles, and the delegates reached New York City at about eleven o'clock
in the morning.
Digitized byGoOgIC
LUIGI SOLARI
Preside lit Italian Phanihpr of C
CHARLES C. HOYT
sident New England Shoe and Leather As-
DR. W. P. WILSON
Director Philadelphia Commercial Mua
JOHN H. PATTERSON
President National Cash Register Company
,Gno<^le
e a
I *-
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
HEW TORE CTTT
The delegates were met at the Pennsylvania terminal by the New York
committees and escorted to their hotels. In New York City the delegates were
the guests of the commercial organizations of that city, namely:
The Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York
The Merchants' Aasociation of New York
The New York Produce Eichai^
The New York Stock Exchange
The New York Cotton Exchange
The Consolidated Stock Ebccbai^e of New York
The Coffee Exchange of the City of New York
The Italian Chamber of Commerce of New York
The Swedish Chamber of Commerce of New York
The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce of America
The City Club of New York
American Manufacturers' Export Association
Silk Association of America
The Pan-American Society
At half past two in the afternoon the foreign guests accompanied by the
Reception Committee were taken on an automobile tour of the principal points
of interest in New York City as far north as lS6th Street and Riverside Drive
and as far south as Washington Square, includii^ a ride through the historic
Central Park, on River«de Drive, Fifth Avenue and Broadway. In the even-
ing the spectacle " Under Many Flags" at the Hippodrome was witnessed. That
performance was chosen for the foreign visitors because its action covers many
countries. Automobile transportation between the hotels and the theater was
provided.
On Friday morning, October 18, at half past nine, the foreign delegates
acc<Hnpanied by a part of the Reception Committee were escorted to the City
Recreation Pier, East River and 24th Street, on a short but interesting ride
through the shopping section to the East Side of the city. At that point the
Hudson River Day Line Steamer "Hendrick Hudson" was boarded. On the
steamer, which is the lai^est river cri^t in the world, accommodatii^ as it does
over 5,500 passengers, opportimity was afforded the members of the different
organizations to meet the delegates. The trip on the water covered a eajl
under the East River bridges, past the Battery, Governor's Island and the Bush
Teiminal, across New York Bay, in view of the Staten Island shore, through
the Upper Bay, in sight of Bedloe's and Ellis Islands and the Statue of Liberty,
thence up the Hudson (North) River to Spuyten Duyvil, returning, with a
view of both sides of the river, to the pier at the foot of Cedar Street.
Escorted by the entire Reception Committee, all the delegates walked the
short distance to the building of the Chamber of Commerce at 65 Liberty Street,
Digitized byGoOgIC
40 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
where, after an address of welcome by Mr. John Clajun, President, an elab-
orate limcheon was served. The ladles accompanjdi^ tbe foreign delegates
were taken in taxicabs from the pier to the Chamber of Commerce Building,
where luncheon was served to them in the committee rooms. After luncheon
an automobile ride through the crowded down-town district was tak^n to the
United Engineering Societies' Building at 29 West 39th Street, in the auditorium
of which exercises were held to express New York's appreciation of the honor
the delegates conferred ufMin the city by visiting it, and to convey appropriate
messages of international good will on the ooncluuon of the American tour of
the foreign delegates.
CONCLUSIOn
In the evening the foreign del^ates tendered a dinner at Sheny's to the
Boston Conmiittee on Tour. Practically the entire party was in attendance.
The delegates from all lands vied with each other in the tributes to the Boston
Chamber of Commerce for the splendid way in which the Fifth International
Congress of Chambers of Commerce had been conducted. This dinner marked
the close of the tour, althoi^h the foreign delegates were entertained informally,
and many of them before leaving the country made special trips to the southern
and western parts of the United States, which, on account of the distance, It
had been impossible to include in the itinerary of the official tour.
On Saturday evening, October 19, 1912, the Italian Chamber of Commerce
in New York celebrated its Twenty-Fifth Anniversary by tendering a dinner at
the Waldorf Astoria to all the Italian delegates in attendance at the Fifth In-
ternational Congress of Chambers of Commerce.
One of the very interesting phases of this tour was the organization of a
Cosmopolitan Club composed of members from practically every nation repre-
sented at the Congress. The purpose of this club is to encourage the lai^est
poBuble attendance at the biennial sessions of the IntematJonal Congresses of
Chambers of Commerce, and to promote and encourage international good
fellowship and co-operation among Its members.
,yGoog[c
DigilizedbyGoOgle
COPLEY PLAZA HOTEL, COPLEY SQUARE, BOSTON
Hcatlquarlpra of Fifth Iiil<?rnational Congress
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. COPLEY SQUARE
D.,i,7e..v, Google
PofCton
Boston, where the Fifth International Congress of Chambers of Commerce
held its sessions, is one of the oldest and most important cities and has always
been one of the chief commercial, industrial and financial centers in the
United States of America.
Metropolitan Boston, the great urban community at the head of Massa^
chusettB Bay, has over 1,500,000 inhabitants, and in population ranks as the
fourth city of the United States and the tenth city of the world.
Boston is the capital city of the State of Massachusetts, one of the thirteen
colonies which originally formed the Bepublic. It is the principal seaport and
metropolis of the section known as " New England," which counts of a compact
group of ^ states forming the northeastern part of the country.
Boston is situated on that portion of the Atlantic Ocean known as Massa-
chusetts Bay. The inner city — the municipality officially named "Boston"
— occupies the peninsula which was first settled, and a portion of the land ad-
joining, which has been united with the older city at different periods by the
annexation of other communities. Municipal Boston has a i>opulation of about
700,000 people. Metropolitan Boston, the real city, with its population in 1909
of 1,520,470, comprises forty municipalities, which are included in a circle ex-
tendii^ back from the shore hne within a radius of about twelve miles.
The relations of this metropolis to the city itself are, except in pohtical re-
spects, like those of the British metropolis to the old city of London. Socially,
commercially and industrially, the interests of the forty conmiunities are
closely interwoven. Almost the entire district is thickly populated, and the
lines of division between the communities are merely arbitrary. There are
metropolitan park, water and sewerage systems under unified control, servii^
most of these cities and towns. They all are included in one postal district,
and most of them are served by one system of electric street railway transpoi^
tation. The essential unity of the entire district is well recognized.
COMMERCE AKD HAKBOR
Boston is a world port ranking in the United States second only to New
York in its imports. With the diminishing export of foodstuffs from the
United States the exporte of Boston have decreased, with the result that in the
total volume of all foreign trade Boston is the fourth port of the country.
Digitized byGoOgIC
42 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Boston is one hundred ninety-four miles nearer Europe than any other la^e
American port, and it is nearer to all the east coast of South America south of
the Amazon, including euch ports as Bio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Buenos
Aires, than is New York, Philadelphia, Galveston or any other North American
port.
Boston has one of the finest natural harbors in the world, with broad road-
steads sheltered from rough water by numerous islands. It has wide, safe ap-
proaches from the ocean, and Boston Light, the outer edge of the harbor, is
less than an hour's run from the steamship piers. The channels from the open
sea to the piers are dredged to a depth of thirty-five feet at low water, and in
the near futiu^ will be dredged to a depth of forty feet. The three outer chan-
nels converge into a vaain ship channel which conmiunicates with all parts <A
the inner harbor.
Two years ago the legislature created a board of five Port Directors ap-
pointed by the State and city and havii^ jurisdiction over Boston harbor. In
the initial law creating the Board it was given an appropriation of $9,000,000
to be expended in building docks and other water-front improvements. This
Board is now actively engaged in constructing improvements at various parts
of the harbor and in making plans for future improvements. Commonwealth
Pier, 1,200 feet long and 400 feet wide, with a depth aloi^de of 40 feet
at mean low water, has already been equipped and opened at an expense of
$2,500,000. This pier is one of the most up-to-date and best equipped piers
in America, with accommodations for the lai^est liners now afloat. The Fort
Directors have completed plans for a huge dry-dock, to be constructed at an
expense of $3,000,000 and capable of acconmiodatii^ any steamship afloat or
yet projected. For the accommodation of the great fishing fleet a new pier
1,200 feet loi^ and 300 feet wide has been recently completed.
Previous to the creation of the Board of Port Directors, Boston had very
excellent docks and harbor accommodations privately owned. The present
terminal of the Boston & Albany Railroad Company at East Boston includes
several of the finest piers on the Atlantic coast, a grain elevator with a capacity
of one million bushels, direct track connections and modem devices for loading
and unloading vessels and cars. The Boston & Maine R^hoad owns the Hoosac
and Mystic docks at Charlestown with some twelve piers capable of accommo-
dating ocean liners. The grain elevator at Hoosac docks has a capacity of one
miUion bushels, while that at the Mystic docks has a capacity of half a million
bushels. The New Haven Railroad owns three piers at South Boston. At
present in Boston there is a lineal frontage of over forty miles of berth space,
of which over six miles front on a depth of at least thirty feet at low water.
Many transatlantic and coastwise steamship lines have terminals at Boston.
In addition to the numerous steamship lines which give frequent regular direct
connection with all the important coast cities of the Atlantic, both in the
United States and Canada, there are some twenty-four foreign lines which have
regular sailings to or from the port of Boston. These steamship lines mun-
□igitizedbyGoOglc
STEAMSHIP DOCKS AT EAST BOSTON
hp:ad house, commonwealth pieh, south boston
Digitized byGoOgIC
FISHING FLEET AT T WHARF. BOSTON
STATE BATHHOUSE AT REVERE
In Metropolitan Boston
..Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 43
tun regular saiUngB to and from English, North European, Mediterranean,
West Indian, South American and Far Eastern ports. In the past year or
two tiie facilities for transatlantic passei^er travel between Boston and Europe
have been greatly improved, and the number of transatlantic passengers seuI-
ing from and to Boston has increased at a very rapid rate.
The importe of Boston are principally raw materials for the industries of
the New England states. The principal commodities imported are wool, cotton,
ludes and skins, burlaps, fibers and vegetable grasses, sugar and machinery.
The chief articles of export from Boston are meat, breadstuffs and grun, cot-
ton, machinery, steel, boots and shoes and leather, and miscellaneous manu-
factured products.
For the year ending June 30, 1912, the value of the foreign trade of Boston
was $234,918,975, of which 1153,671,165 were imports and $81,247,810 were
exporte.
TRANSPORTATION
Boston is the terminal of three great rulroad systems. All parts of New
England are closely connected with Boston by highly developed transportation
facilities. A complex network of steam railroads, electric rtulwa^, steamboat
lines and excellent highways center about Boston as a metropolis. As in abnoat
all parts of the country, the transportation facilities by itdl and water are pri-
vately owned. The important highways are controlled by the state and local
roads by the communities through which they run.
The local transportation system communicating with the different parts of
Metropolitan Boston is the finest in America, with inter-connecting subway,
surface and elevated lines. Three subways and one tunnel under the harbor
are now in operation and three new subways are under construction.
mDUSTRIES
Boston is the great center of the textile industry in the United States. It
is the greatest wool market in the Western Hemisphere. It is the unquestioned
leader in the production of boots, shoes and leather. It is the leading center
for shoe and textile machinery. It is most important in the production of elec-
trical machinery and foimdry and machine-shop products. It has large plants
for the production of watches, confectionery, cocoa, chocolates, rubber and
elastic goods. It has important printing, publishing, electrical, gas, clothing
and packing establishments. It has lai^e establishments for the refining of
sugar and molasses and for slaughtering and meat packing. It is the greatest
fresh-fish market in the Western Hemisphere and with one exception in the
world. It has great ship-building works where modem battleships and other
vessels are constantly under construction. In 1911 the value of manufactured
products of Metropolitan Boston reached the total of $502,527,771.
And this is only a small part of the story. For a correct understanding of
Digitized byGoOgIC
44 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Boston as an industrial center it must also be remembered that it is tbe me-
tropolis and chief port of New England. Many of the great industrial plants of
New England have their headquarters and transact their principal business in
Boston, even though the manufacturing plants themselves are located in other
parts of New England. New England is more intensely developed as an indus-
trial region than any other part of America. With one-eleventh of the popula-
tion of the country, it turns out one-eeventh of the manufactured products.
Most of itfi manufactures are high-grade staple articles which are needed in
increasing quantities in South American countries and in the Far East.
These industries also use la^e quantities of raw materials which can be ad-
vantageously purchased from those countries.
The textile industries are the most important of the industries of New Eng-
land. The leadership of the section in these industries is unquestioned. More
than $650,000,000 is invested in textile mills which make a variety of cotttm,
woolen, worsted, felt, linen, silk, knit goods, cordage and twine and many other
woven products. Many of the greatest mills are within a few hours' travel of
Boston and have their offices in the city. The value of the textile products
of the mills of New England annually exceeds $600,000,000.
The makii^ of boots and shoes by machinery and the manufacture of the
machines to make the shoes originated in New Ehigland. In 1909, 136,962,674
p^rs of boots and shoes, with a value of $300,000,000 were made in this sec-
tion. There are 1,000 factories engaged in various branches of this industry,
located in more than one hundred different cities and towns. The great bulk
of the product, in fact practically all, comes from factories located within fifty
miles of Boston. Through the United Shoe Machinery Company, with a great
factory at Beverly, this section leads the world in the manufacture of the
machines used in making shoes.
New Ei^aod has long been famous tor its machinery. There is hardly an
industry dependent upon machinery in which will not be found some machines
invented in New England. This section leads the United States in the making
of foundry and machine-shop products. The total value of its foundry and
machine-riiop products is about $200,000,000 annually.
The supremacy of New England in the production of fine writing paper
made chieSy from rags is well known. Kolyoke, Massachusetts, alone makes
over one-half the nation's supply of good writing paper. The value of the paper
made in New England is about $100,000,000 annually.
Jewelry is made extensively in a small area at the border between Massa-
chusetts and Khode Island. The value of the jewelry produced in this district
reaches $35,000,000 a year.
Besides the industries noted above. New England leads in the production
of wire goods, cutlery, firearms, ammunition, brass and bronze products, rub-
ber goods, marble, clocks, watehes, plated ware, rolled copper, silverware and
silk goods. It has an important place in many other industries and leads in
the production of many other commodities, almost all of high grade.
Digitized byGoOgIC
PLANT OF THE WALTHAM WATCH COMPANY
In Metropolitan Boston
PLANT OF THE THOMAS G. PLANT SHOE COMPANY, BOSTON
D.,i,7e..v, Google
!■ THE UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY
WOOD WORSTED MILLS AT LAWRENCE
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 45
There are 25,351 industrial establishmenta in New England, giving employ-
ment to 1,212,158 wage eamere. The capital invested in these industries is
$2,503,854,000. There are paid to the employees each year $669,915,000 in
Balaries and wages. The value of the goode manufactured in New England
reaches the enormous annual total of $2,670,065,000.
PmAKCIAL CENTER
Boston is an important financial center. Its per capita wealth is greater
than any other city of the United States. It is said to be, next to New York,
the richest trade center of the country. One-twentieth of the savings of the
American people is in the savings banks of Boston. It has a stock exchange
which is the center for trade in the shares of copper mines, and on which large
transactions of all kinds are affected. In 1911 there was on deposit in its banks
and trust companies about $500,000,000. Its clearii^-house exchanges in 1911
reached the enormous total of $8,339,718,582. Boston capital has built many
of the railroads of the western United States, and to-day is heavily invested in
mining and other developments. The total valuatjon of the metropolitan city,
includii^ forty communities, is $2,279,606,065.
EDUCATIOK
Boston is now, as it always has been, recognized as the leading center of
education m America. Harvard University is one of the oldest American imi-
versities and is recognized as the leading educational institution of the United
States. It is principally located in Cambridge, just across the Charles River
from Municipal Boston. Its grounds are extensive and its buildings numerous
and inter^ii^. They include several museums which contain notable collec-
tions, and the Stadium, an enormous concrete structiu^ built on the plan of
the Colosseum at Rome, where intercollegiate contests are held. The univer-
sity has 6,000 students, including those in summer-school and extension courses,
and in RadcUffe, which is the women's college allied with Harvard. In addi-
tion to the college and Radcliffe, the university has medical and law schools,
each widely known; graduate schools of applied science, arts and sciences and
business administration; divinity and dental schools, an arboretum, botanic
garden and observatory. The magnificent new buildings of the medical school
are near the Fenway, within Municipal Boston.
Another educational institution known throughout the world is the Masea-
chusetts Institute of Technology, the leading American school of applied sci-
ences, foimded in 1861. Its buildings are at present in the center of the city,
but it has recently received donations of several millions of dollars with which
to build on a new site on the bank of the Charles River Basin. The Institute
receives an annual grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The
total number of students is 1,500, representing 30 nations.
Digitized byGoOgIC
46 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
The best known Boston college for women is Wellesley College, in the sub-
urb of that name, where it occupies 300 acres. This institution, the teaching
and administrative staff of which consists almost entirely of women, has 1,500
students. Simmons College, in Boston proper, and Jackson College — until
recently a part of Tuf ta College for men — in Medford, another suburb, are
the other best known women's institutions.
Tufte College, in addition to its academic department in Medford, has well-
known medical and dental schools located in Boston proper.
Boston University has an excellent academic department as well as schoola
of law, medicine and divinity, all located in various parts of Municipal Boston.
Boston College, a Roman Catholic institution, is located at Newton, another
Bubiu-b.
Education preparatory for college is carried on chiefly in public schools
supported by taxation, although there are in Boston a conaiderable number of
privately owned academiee. In Massachusetts attendance at school is com-
pulsory for all children between the ages of seven and fourteen years.
The public school system of Boston is a model for other American cities.
The schools are administered by an unpud, elected committee of five citizens.
The system includes — in addition to the usual day classes for both sexes — in-
dustrial, commercial, art, normal, salesmanship and other vocatioaal courses,
many of them ffvea in the evening in order that persons who have a r^fular
dwiy occupation may attend.
Trade or technical schools, endowed by private philanthropy, are abundant.
The Wentworth Institute, Franklin Union, Women's Educational and Indus-
trial Union, the North End Union, Wells Memorial Institute and Massachu-
setts Charitable Mechanics Association are a few of these. The Young Men's
Christian Association has over 1,900 students. In some manufacturing estab-
lishments, notably the General Electric Company at Lynn, educational courses
are mainlined for the employees.
ARTS, LETTERS AKD MUSIC
Boston was the birthplace of American letters, and is to-day a notable
center of literature, art and music. Boston was the home of the well-known
group of nineteenth-century authors, poete and thinkers which included Emer-
son, Longfellow, Lowell, Hohnes, Hawthorne, Whittier, Thoreau and others.
Several national publications of importance are issued in the city, and among
its residents are several of the beat known American writers of to-day.
The first public library In America was started in Boston. Its collection
now contains over one miUion volumes, and circulates annually 1,650,000
volumes to the homes of citizens. The nuun public library building on Copley
Square is famous throughout the United States. On ite walls are several notar
ble series of mural pmntings.
Boeton has at present the best known American groiq) of artists and sculp-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
HALL OF THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
BOSTON OPERA HOL'SE
,v Google
HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, BOSTON
BOSTON MUSEUM OF FINK ARTS
D.,t,7e..v, Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 47
tors now producing. Its new Museum of Fine Arte ia a very large and beautiful
structure, and contuns a number of excellent collections and individual works
of great importance. The Museum mftint^inn a school which gives instnictioQ
in drawing, punting, modelii^ and design.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra ff.vea frequent public concerts during the
winter in its great music hall, and travels extensively throi^h the United States.
The chief musical school of Boston is the New England Conservatory of Mumc.
The Boston Opera Company and its beautiful Opera House are only a few
years old, but they already rank amoi^ the best in America.
PAB£S Aim RECREATION
Boston has many magnificent buildings, avenues and parks, with an abun-
dance of striking natural scenery. There are seashores, rivers, forests and hills
near at band while not far distant lie the principal summer resorts of America.
The park system of Boston is of wide extent and exceptional beauty. The
city and metropolitan park systems taken together cover over 12,000 acres.
Be^nning at the center of the city in the Common and the beautiful Public
Gardens, they extend in both directions along the shore of the Atlantic and
back along the rivers and ponds for many miles. The boulevards connect the
beaches on the north and south with each other and with the great inland
reservations. Near the center of the city is a magnificent fresh water ba^
recently created by d amming the Charles River. Several of the ocean beaches
lie within one hour's ride of the city.
At the principal beaches are great public bathhouses. Harbor trips and
steamer excursions to all parts of the bay constitute a popular summer recrea-
tion.
A characteristic American sport is baseball, and from spring to fall inter-
city contests between professional teams are held daily. Boston has a team in
each of the two principal baseball lef^ues. As many as 35,000 people have
attended games played by one of these teams in Boston.
American football is the chief sport in the autumn months. Football, un-
like baseball, is always played by amateur teams. The principal contests are
those between Harvard and the other lai%e colleges, which are played in the
Stadium, where 40,000 spectators can be seated.
HISTORICAL
The Rlgrims who came from England seeking religious freedom landed at
Plymouth, a coast town near Boston to the south. Boston itself was settled in
1630 by John Winthrop and a party of Enghsh colomsts from Salem.
As the scene of many of the important events in the history of the United
States, and the birthplace or home of many of the men who achieved fame in
Digitized byGoOgIC
48 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
the early days of the nation, Boston has much of patriotic interest to Ameticam.
It is annually visited by thousands of people for this reason alone.
It was at Boston that the men who conceived the idea of American liberty
and who controlled the early destinies of the Republic were bom and educated.
The first battle of the Revolution was fought at Lexington, now a suburb,
April 19, 1775, The first Provincial Congress met in Concord in 1774. Bunker
Hill, at Charlestown, where the second battle was fought on June 17, 1775, is
marked by a tall shaft. Both April 19 and June 17 are annually observed
as holidays. Two of the earliest Presidents of the United States, John Adams,
and John Quincy Adams, were bom in Quincy, another suburb.
The next period during which the city played a significant part in history
began in 1831 when the movement for the abolition of slavery throughout the
country was b^un in Boston by William Lloyd Garrison and his followers.
The national revolt gainst the slave-traffic, which led up to the Civil War in
1861, made its headquarters in Boston.
Boston has been during the greater part of the last century the head-
quarters of the American Peace Society, as it is now the headquarters of its
Massachusetts branch; it is also the headquarters of the World Peace Founda-
tion. It has been one of the great centers of the college settlement move-
ment in which South End House has had a most important place. It has
taken the lead in a multitude of significant educational and philanthropic
movements.
BOSTON CHAMBER OF COHMEKCB
The Boston Chamber of Commerce, with nearly 5,000 members, is the
iai^est commercial organization in America. It is chartered to promote the
commerce, industry and public interests of Boston and New England. Through
its numerous committees of public-spirited business men, it participates in all
that makes for the welfare of the community. Each member pays $25 a year
toward the general expenses of the organization, which include the employment
of a large staff of paid secretaries and experts. The members are from all voca-
tions. Although the membership is chiefly merchants and manufacturers, it
also includes many lawyers, engineers, accountants, architects, doctors and
others. The institution operates imder a charter granted by the Commonwealtli
of Massachusetts. It has a president, two vice-presidents and a board of
twenty-five directors, all serving without compensation. There are also a large
number of small standing committees. The opinions of the Boston Chamber of
Commerce are carefully worked out and have much weight with public and
l^slative bodies. Its reports and invest^ations are valuable, and the direct
service rendered to its members considerable. It maintains an exchange where
the grain business of New England is conducted, a marine department which
sends out news of the movement of shipping, a statistical department which
coUatea and classifies general commercial statistics, a bureau of information
Digitized byGoOgIC
WEST BOSTON URIDGE TO CAMBRIDGE
STREET RAILWAY TERMINAL AT FOREST HILLS, BOSTON
.V, Google
i'L'blk; gardens in thk center of boston
rOMMONWEALTH AVENUE. BOSTON
D.,i,7e..v, Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 49
and investigation, an expert transportation department, an industrial bureau
and a system for the arbitration of business disputes.
The influence of the Boston Chamber of Commerce had a large part in
bringing about the formation of the new Chamber of Commerce of the United
States, a union of the conmiercial bodies in all parts of the country.
The Boston Chamber of Commerce took the lead in extending the invita-
tions which resulted in the Fifth International Congress of Chambers of Com-
merce being held at Boston in 1912.
Digitized byGoOgIC
DigilizedbyGoOgle
STATE STREET, BOSTON
Shovine Old State Houso
Digitized byGoOgIC
SOUTH TERMINAL R.MLROAD STATION, BOSTON
UNION STATION, WOHCESTKll
Digitized byGoOgIC
:f acttf obotit tfie Cittetf ^fsiteb on tfie iSmerican QToitr
WORCESTER
WoBCESTEB, Massachusette, the first city viflited by the foreign del^ates
on the American tour, is the largest manufacturing city in the United States
not on a waterway. It is a city of diversified industries employing 34,000
Bkilled mechanics and laborers and more than 3,200 salaried employees. It has
a conunercial history dating back to ISOO. It has always been without serious
labor strikes or trouble. It has become by steady pn^ess an inland city of
160,120 people (municipal census for 1912) and is growing at the rate of 7,500
a year.
This city is one of the machine tool centers of the United States. Here is
located one of the principal plants of the American Steel & Wire Company,
employing some 7,500 workers. It is the home of one of the largest manufac-
turers of abrasives and grinding wheels m the world — The Norton Company.
It is an uuportant center in the corset industry, having located here the plant
of the Royal Worcester Corset Company, where employees work under such
excellent conditions that the plant has an international reputation. It is a
factor in the envelope industry — the United States Envelope Company alone
having three plants in this city. It houses a great leather-belting plant — the
Graton & Knight Manufacturing Company. The famous Whittall rugs and
carpets are manufactured here. The Wyman 4 Gordon Company of this city
drop-forge more than 75 per cent of all the automobile crank-ehafts used m the
automobile industry of this country. The Crompton & Enowles Loom Works
turn out every year the greatest variety of weaving machinery with a loom for
ahnost every fabric. If space permitted, hundreds of other industrial facts to
show the pre-eminence of this city might be written, but suffice it to say that
this city manufactures ahnost everything — from a button to a passenger
coach. Other cities specialize in a few products. Worcester has l^on, a fact
which has made possible its uninterrupted industrial development in the last
century.
In art, science and education, this city has an important place. It is the
seat of Clwk Univermty, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Holy Cross College
and lesser institutions of leamii^, and is the home of the third heaviest endowed
art museum in the United States.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Buffalo, the Queen City of the Lakes, occupies an enviable position indue-
trially and commercially. Situated at the easterly end of Lake Erie, and at
the western terminus of the new State Barge Canal, which connects the Great
Lakes with the Atlantic Coast, it is like an hour-glass through which flow un-
ceasingly the products of the soil fr<HU the west, and the finished manufactured
products from the east. Seventeen railroad lines and ten steamship lines make
it one of the world's greatest points of transfer.
Buffalo's strategic position with regard to transportation gives it immense
advantage in assembling raw material and shipping finished products. Un-
limited electric power from Niagara Falls, together with cheap natural gas, coal,
iron and steel, lumber and water, gives to Buffalo all the essentials of low-
cost manufacturing. Its producte vary greatly, taking in over 60 per cent
of the various kinds of manufactures recognized by the Federal Census
Bureau and providing employment for skilled and unskilled labor of many
The steel industry which leads in value of products represents only 10 per
cent of the total. Other important industries are slaughtering and meat pack-
ing; foundry and machine-shop work; fiour and grist milling; automobiles; soap;
printii^ and publishing; and malt.
Although commercial interests emphasize Buffalo's advantages as a com-
mercial center, there are many who urge Buffalo's claim to be one of the most
beautiful, cleanest and most healthful of the larger cities of the country. There
are eight lai^e parks contwning more than 1,000 acres, connected by over
21 miles of shaded boulevard. Delaware Avenue is considered to be one of the
finest residential thoroughfares in the United States. The Albright Art Gtdlery,
situated on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition enjoys a high repu-
tation and Gont^ns besides the permanent collection of the Buffalo Fine Arts
Academy, one of the best art schools in the country.
Buffalo is 22 miles from the world-famous Niagara Falls. Its population in
1912 was 444,950, increasing at the rate of about 15,000 a year.
DETROIT
The disclosures of the thirteenth census with reference to the growth of
Detroit industrially and in population, and especially the marvelous develop-
ment of its greatest industry, the automobile, were very striking.
Detroit holds first rank among all the cities of the world in the manufacture
of the automobile. The actual growth of this industry in Detroit has been one
of the industrial marvels of the age. In the twelfth census reports, covering
the work of 1899, this industry did not appear as a separate class m the tables.
In 1904 the value of automobiles and their parts produced in Detroit was given
at $6,240,057. In 1908 the product in automobiles stood at $22,000,000. It
,y Google
Mckinley monument, buffalo
NIAGARA FALLS
Digitized byGoOgIC
VIEW OF THE LAKE FRONT. CHICAGO
PORTION OF THK CHICACJO STOfK-YARHS
.v,Goog[c
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 53
then jumped to $54,300,000 in 1909 and $134,587,000 in 1910. The next year
this industry employed about 35,000 men, and turned out 135,000 cars valued
at $160,000,000. The Festered capital employed by the twenty-seven com-
panies engaged in this industry is about $40,000,000. Every business man
visitii^ Detroit ought to go throi^ one or more of the immense automobile
estabUshments.
The second industry of Detroit is car building, with a larger output of steel
cars than any other city in the United States. Detroit also has immense shops
and shipyards and is in the first rank among the lake shipbuilding ports.
Detroit also holds a leading position in the manufacture of stoves, drug*
gists' preparations, soda-ash and caustic soda, aluminum castings, addiug-
machines and overalls. It is among the leaders in the manufacture of
malleable iron, paints and varnishes, matches and special lines of furniture.
The official figures of the census show that in 1909 the value of the product
of the factories of Detroit was $252,992,000. The enormous expansion of the
automobile business in the next two years, together with an unusual growth in
other lines, indicates a factory product for 1911 which reaches the tremendous
total of $340,000,000.
On December 31, 1911, the population of Detroit was about 527,000 people
within ite area of only 41.44 square miles.
In 1903 the foundation was laid of the Detroit Board of Ckmunerce, which
has become one of the most powerful and useful commercial and civic oi^aui-
zations in the country. Its membership has increased from 506 at the time of
its forma! organization Jime 30, 1903, to over 3,100 in April, 1912.
Less than a century ago the city of Chicago was a military post surrounded
by the habitations of a few traders and Indians. In 1837 it was incorporated
as a city with a population of 4,170. In 1912 it had a population of 2,446,921.
Its area is 195 square miles. It is now the second city of the western hemi-
sphere and the fifth city of the world. As a port of one of the great lakes its
tonnage has given it rank with the world's great seaports. It is the greatest
railway center in the world, being the terminal for twenty-six railway systems,
comprising 84,938 miles, or 34.8 per cent of all the railroad mileage of the United
States. As a manufacturing center, Chicago leads in the production of agri-
cultural implements, meat products, electrical equipment, railway supplies,
passenger, freight and sleeping cars, musical instruments, millinery, clothing
and various other lines. It is a foremost distributii^ center of grain, frmt
and produce, structural steel, many kinds of machinery, hardware, lumber, fur-
niture, dry goods, footwear, hides and leathers, books and publications.
The population of CMce^o is an a^regation of more than forty nationah-
lies and racial variations, and this fact lai^ly substantiates ite claim to be dis-
tinguished as the American city. It is a commercial and industrial rather than
Digitized byGoOgIC
54 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
a financial center, and ite weekly bank clearingB of $267,609,804 reflect the
transactions of commerce rather than the speculative business of the exchange.
Ite business in grtun, lumber, steel, meats, clothing, dry goods, etc., is enormous.
Ite wholesale trade is estimated to be $1,905,989,000 annually.
Chicago is encircled by a system of parks and boulevards, having a circum-
ference of about forty miles, three of its greater parks being upon ite water
front. It is in the front rank among the world's cities In the number and
equipment of playgrounds provided for ite children, and it is also distin-
guished in having the great social settlement, Hull House.
Chicago, like most cities of the new and old world, has grown without a
plan. But a plan magnificent in design and practical in ite workings has now
been submitted to the people, and this will guide the city's great acte of recon-
struction and extension in coming years. The great offices and mercantile
buildings of Chicago are concentrated in a central district, and this district is
under gradual transformation respecting those details which give beauty and
convenience to metropolitan centers.
Chicago is distinguished as the site of the University of Chicago which in
twenty years of life has instructed 43,115 studente, and represente an invest-
ment in buildings, equipment, endowment, etc., of $35,000,000.
Chicago is the meeting place of many conventions and so is an exchange
for national thought on commercial, industrial, educational, religious, political
and other questions animating the life of the American people.
In Chicago's Art Institute, or Academy of Exhibition and Design, there
are more than fifty classes aggregating 3,000 pupils annually. Chicago's public
library, operating through a great main building and twenty-Mx branches, offers
one-half million volumes, the circulation of which is 3,000,000 annually. The
Theodore Thomas Orchestra and the Chicago Grand Opera Company are
among the city's exceptional musical facilities.
The city's business and professional strength and sentiment have been or-
ganized in The Chicago Association of Commerce, one of the largest bodies of
ite kind in the world.
CIHCnraATI
Cincinnati is located in two states and three countiee, the metropolitan
district including a population of about 600,000. The great Ohio Biver flowing
through ite center presente an example of governmental canalization on a large
scale, and when completed will form a constantly navigable water system thou-
sands of miles in length.
Geograplucal and other natural advantages, including proximity to the
center of population, to vast sources of supply of raw materials, including one
of the greatest soft-coal fields In the world, have tended to develop manufac-
turing on a large and diversified scale. Cincinnati takes a high rank in the
manufacture of machine tools, woodworking machinery, office fiu*niture, glass
bottles, ornamental iron, playing cards and washing machines, and in the dis-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 55
tributon of whiskey and hardwood lumber. It is abo an important center the
the manufacture of shoes, soap, clothii^, acids, musical instnmieuts, printing
inks, laundry machinery, distilling apparatus and camageg. So diversified are
the industrial activities that a complete list is not feasible, but the situation
may be summarized by the statement that 90 per cent of the lines classified by
the Federal Census are manufactured in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is the only city in the United States owning a steam raihx>ad,
the Cincinnati Southern, extending from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, Tenn.
The city operates playgrounds, municipal lodging-houses, an employment
bureau, a municipal laundry, bathhouses, tuberculosis and general hospitals,
in addition to the usual activities of a city government. A new municipal
hospital, costing two miUion dollars, is imder construction.
Perhaps the most completely co-ordinated educational system in the coun-
try is found here, since it includes instruction from the kindergarten to and
including the Municipal University, The co-operative system of education, by
which the time of the student is divided between the class work and actual
employment in the factories and other establishments of the city, is being
adopted largely in other cities.
A comprehensive park and boulevard system is being worked out by a
special conunission. Many new and important projects, such as a magnificent
Union Station, a rapid transit system and a public auditorium and entertun-
ment hall, are in contemplation.
Cincinnati has long been noted as a center for art and music, and the May
Festivals are renowned throt^hout the music-loving world.
DAYTOir
Dayton, "The City of a Thousand Factories," is situated in the south-
western portion of Ohio, a state near the center of the United States. It
was founded in 1796 by English, and later, German people. It received its
charter in 1805, when it had a population of about 100 people. Its present
population is about 125,000, and its corporate area is 6.5 miles. Dayton is
situated in a rich industrial and agricultural area — the most thickly populated
section west of the Alleghany moimtains, and within its trading district are
over 750,000 people. Dayton is a city of homes, and ranks high in ita. civic
improvements, parks, playgrounds and civic pride.
Dayton is a leader in the manufacture of the foUowing products: cash re-
gisters, aeroplanes, car registers, railroad cars, sewing machines, cast-iron fit-
ings, clay working machinery, computing scales, filters, shoe lasts, golf clubs,
stamped envelopes. Dayton is also an automobile manufacturing center.
Dayton has 1,264 industrial establishment, with an annual output valued at
$72,000,000. The capital invested is $32,000,000. Dayton's annual payroll is
over $35,000,000.
The most notable industrial plant at Dayton is the great factory of the
Digitized byGoOgIC
56 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
National Cash RegJBter Company, which makes cash registera for every coun-
try on the globe, doing 45 per cent of its bu«ness outside the United States.
This company maintains in connection with its works a well-equipped school
for the industrial education of its employees. The president of the Company
m^tEuns near the outskirts of the city a large park "Hills and Dales" for the
use of the employees uid the citizens generally.
The original and present factory of Wright Brothers, the famous aero-
nautic engineers, is located at Dayton. Eight railroads radiate in twelve direc-
tions from the city.
At Dayton is situated the largest and finest National Soldiers' Home in the
United States in aa exceptional location surrounded by beautiful grounds.
PITTSBtntGH
Pittsbiu^ is the steel center of the world. It occupies the front rank in
the production of iron, steel, pig iron, steel ingots and castings, structural steel,
wire, iron and steel pipe, sheet and plate iron and steel, steel buildii^ and
bridges, steel cars, roUing-mill machinery and other iron and steel products.
The Pittsburgh district produced in 1910 ninety million tons of bituminous
coal. Its steel works and blast furnaces give employment to 75,000 men. For
the hauling of materials, coke, iron ore and limestone, which are made into pig
iron in the Pittsburgh district, 88,000 freight truns, with an average load of
3,400 gross tons apiece are required every year. The total annual tonnage of
the district is 167,733,268 tons. In 1910, 56,480,000,000 cubic feet of natural
gas were piped into Pittsburgh direct from th^ gas fields.
In addition to the great steel industry, Pittsburgh has an important posi^
tion in the manufacture of plate and window glass, plumbing supplies, fire brick,
air brakes, table ware, white lead, tin plate, electrical machinery, aluminum
and cork. It has a huge pickling and preserving plant with 3,500 employees
and 500 traveling salesmen.
Metropolitan Pittsburgh has a population within a ten-mile radius of
1,042,855, ranking as the fifth metropolitan district of the United States.
Within a radius of 40 miles of the Court House there lives a population of four
miUion people.
There are 84 banks and trust companies in Pittsburgh with a capital of
about $60,000,000, and surplus of about {100,000,000. The clearing-house ex-
chai^es for 1911 amounted to $2,520,285,912.
Pittsburgh has 509 miles of paved streets. It has 22 parks, contuning 1,387
acres, valued at over seven miUion dollars.
Carnegie Institute covers four acres, and cost Andrew Carnegie $6,000,000,
— with the technical schools adjoining, and all endowments, $24,000,000. The
Carnegie Technical Schools have 2,450 students, a campus of 32 acres and a
faculty of 160. The Univermty of I^ttsburgh is a splendidly equipped insti-
tution with 1,948 students, a campus of 43 acres and a faculty of 225.
Digitized byGoOgIC
VIEW OF THE niVER FRONT. DETROIT
VIKW FROM THE ()HIO RIVER, CIMCINNATI
,y Google
THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON', D. t:.
WHITE HOi;^E, WASHINGTON-, D. C.
D.,i,7e..v, Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
WASHINGTOH
Wasbii^ton, the capital city of the United States, is generally admitted to
be one of the most beautiful cities in the New World. It was planned by the
celebrated French engineer Charles Pierre L'Enfant. The pubhc buildings are
handsome and well placed, and thousands of acres of small and lai^ parka
adorn the city.
As the seat of the government of the United States, it has grown from a
village to a city of 340,000 inhabitants. The White House, where the President
lives, and the Capitol, where Congress sits, are located at either end of Penn-
sylvania Avenue, the principal thoroughfare of the city, and one of the most
notable in the world.
In Waahington are located the State, War, Navy, Treasury, Post^Office,
Interior, Agricultural, Commerce and Labor Departments. The Library of
CcH^ress has nearly two million volumes. The National Museum, the United
States Geolo^cal Survey, the Smithsonian Institute, the Naval Observatory,
the Patent Office and the Came^e Institute of Science are notable features.
The Pan-American Union is boused in a magnificent building near the great
Washington Monument.
The goverament factories, such as the Bureau of Engraving and Printing,
the Government Printing-Office, the Navy Yard and the Arsenal have plants
valued at $25,000,000.
Mt. Vemon, the home and tomb of George Washington, is within an hour's
ride of the coital.
Annapolis, the Government Naval School, is within a short distance of the
city. A great National Soldiers' Home for the care of the retired and invalid
soldiers is within the District of Columbia.
Washington has 314 parks and parkways, covering 3,413 acres.
The capital is the location of over 100 educational institutions. This num-
ber includes three univermties: the George Washington, Georgetown and the
Catholic University of America. There are also a deaf mute college at Kendal
Green, the Army War College, the Army Medical School and others.
Washington is by no means insignificant from an industrial point of view.
It contuns 2,669 manufacturing establishments with 16,000 employees, and
annual products valued at over $37,000,000.
The District of Columbia, in which Washii^ton is located, was established
by Act of Congress in 1790. The administration of the affairs of the District
of Coliunbia is in the hands of two commissioners appointed by the President
and confirmed by the Senate, and one Army En^eer officer detailed by the
Secretary of War. These three men constitute a board of commissioners for
three years. This board prepares and submits estimates for the expenditures
for each year; one-half of the necessary amount being assessed upon the Dis-
trict, and the other h^ appropriated by Congress from the Federal funds.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
PHILADELPHU
Philadelphia is one of the most importaDt cities of the Uaited States in
commerce, industry and financial power. In 1910 its population was 1,549,008,
and it ranked as the third city of the country.
Philadelphia takes the lead in many important lines of domestic produc-
tion. The largest single industry of the city is the Baldwin Locomotive Works,
which gives employment to 12,000 to 15,000 men, and turns out eight locomo-
tives per diem.
The city is a leader in the building of ships, the manufacture of textiles,
carpets and rugs, leather, hosiery, knit goods, felt hats, saws, oilcloth and street-
cars, and is important in sugar refining, petroleum refining, the production of
machinery of all kinds, chemicals, dru^^ists' preparations, cord^e and twine.
In Philadelphia are located 8,379 industrial establishments, employii^ 251,-
884 people, who receive annually wages of 1126,381,000. The capital invested
in the industries of Philadelphia is $691,397,000. The value of the industrial
product of Philadelphia in 1909 was $746,076,000.
Philadelphia is the headquarters of two of the most important American
railroads, the Pennsylvania R^iroad and the Reading Rtulroad.
There are in Philadelphia 105 national banks, trust companies and saving
funds with a capital and surplus of $170,000,000, and deposits of nearly $600,-
000,000.
Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn as a Quaker colony, and
has, in its 250 years of history, been the scene of some of the most important
events of American history. The Declaration of Independence and the Con-
stitution of the United States were t)oth signed at Philadelphia. The first Na-
tional Mint and the first United States Post-Office were opened there,
Philadelphia is an important educational center, being the seat of the Uni-
versity of Pemisylvania, and the famous Girard Ck)llege. The Drexel Insti-
tute, devoted to the extension and improvement of industrial education, is
attended by more than 3,000 students. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts has one of the most important art collections in the United States.
Philadelphia has an excellent park system. The city's chief recreation
groimd is Fairmount Park, one of the largest city parks of the world, covering
an area of 3,348 acres. The Zoological Garden in Philadelphia contains one of
the best collections of the kind in America.
The Philadelphia Commercial Museum was establbhed in 1S95 to dissem-
inate knowlec^e concerning products, requirements, manners and customs of
different parts of the world. This is the most important commercial museum
of the United States.
Digitized byGoOgIC
THE SKY LINE OF PITTSBURGH
INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA
,y Google
THE SKYSt'RAI'ERS OF LOWEH NEW YORK
THltt:K OF THE BItlDGEri TO BRUOKLVX, NEW VOIIK
.gle
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
NEW TORK
New York is the metropolis of America and the second city of the world.
In population, wealth, financial importance, commerce and manufacturing it
dominates all other American cities. It is the natural gateway to the continent.
In 1910, according to the Federal census, the population of New York was
4,766,883. Ite present officially estimated population is 5,173,000.
In 1911 the assessed value for purposes of taxation of New York real and
personal property was $8,216,763,287.
New York is the financial center of America. Its banking operations com-
prise not only the interests arisii^ from the immense volume of foreign and
domestic commerce, but also the financing of the nation's railway system and a
vast range of industrial enterprises in every part of the United States. These
vast financial operations are carried on through 154 banks and trust companies,
whose capital and surplus is over (581,500,000. The duly bank clearii^ in
1911 were over $305,000,000, and for the year f^gregated about ninety-five
and one-half billions of dollars.
More than one-third of the exports from the United States to foreign coun-
tries find their outlet through the port ot New York. In 1911 the total exports
from the United States were valued at $2,049,000,000: those from the port of
New York were valued at $772,552,000. In the same year New York's im-
ports were of the value of $881,592,000, out of a total for the United States of
$1,527,226,000. Fifty-eight lines of steamships engf^ed excludvely in foreigb
trade ply r^ularly between New York and all parts of the world. In addition
fifty-one coastwise and local steamship lines transport an immense traffic be-
tween New York and the Atlantic and Gulf ports. In 1911, 9,719 vessels
arrived at the port of New York. In the same year, 180,261 cabin passengers
(alien) and 556,333 immigrants landed there.
In the volume, value and variety of its products New York is by far the
most uuportant manufacturing city of America. In 1909 New York had
25,938 manufacturii^ establishments employing 680,500 persons. The capital
invested was $1,364,353,000, and the aggregate value of products was $2,029,-
693,000. The industries of New York are of a widely diversified character.
The city budget for 1912 (cost of municipal government) was $181,090,256.
The city owns and supports 511 school buildings costing $130,666,583.
The budget allowance for conducting the public schools in 1911 was $29,007,747
and the bond issues for schools were $12,132,287 making a total spent for the
public schools of $41,140,034. The average ddly attendance of pupils was
602,934.
The public parks of New York comprise a total of 7,947 acres. The most
important of the urban parks are Central Park in Manhattan and ProE^ct
Park in Brooklyn.
The Metropolitan Museum of Arts in Central Park contains the lai^^
Digitized byGoOgIC
60 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
collection of paintings, sculpture, architectural models and archeoU^y in
America.
New York's transit problem is one of the most serious which any muuici-
paUty has ever been required to solve. Three great suspension bridges and one
of the cantilever type connect Manhattan with Brooklyn and with Queena
Borough. Ready access between New York and New Jersey is provided by
the Hudson Tunnels connecting lower Manhattan and the down-town shopping
district with most of the railroads on the New Jersey side. The present sub-
ways under Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx are proving inadequate and
huge new subways are under construction. The length of tracka^ in the
present subways is 73 miles and their cost was $50,000,000. The length of
trackage in the new subways under construction is 256 miles and their cost is
estimated at $347,000,000.
The sky line of the lower end of Manhattan with its huge skyscrapers is
unique. The magnificent railroad stations, hotels, theaters and so forth of
New York are world-famous. No brief description can give an adequate pic-
ture of this constantly growing and wonderful city.
Digitized byGoOgIc
Ilppenbix
DigilizedbyGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
ifieUgatest to tfie yiftl) international Congress of
Ctfonriieaf of Connnerce
Official DeUgaU NomiTtaUd by Ooventment
Dr. Abel Pardo, Consul Genaral to the United Statw, New Yoik, N.Y.
Rouiio do Santa Fe — CAnmftCT- o/ Commerce
Thomas A. Eddy, Vice-Preaidenl, Americao Trading Co. of New Yorit
Tactnnan — BoUa rfc Com^rdo
G. Waahington lUpelli
AnSTRU-HimGART
AU8TEIA
Officiai Ddegale NominaUd hy Government
Dr. Leonhard Ho«bdorf, Secretary to the Austrian Ministry of Commerce,
Postgasse 10, Vienna I
Bnum — ChanAer of Commerce and Industry
Dr. Robert Mayer, Secretary
Paul M. Samek
Prague — Chamber 0} Commerce and Industry
Dr. From Malinsky, Vice-Pr«eident
Dr. Rudolf HotowetE, First Secretary
Dr. Zdenko Fad, Manager of the Export 0£Bce
Dr. Otakar Hoppe, Official
Charles Jezek, Bluisko, Moravia
Dr. Joh&nn Lowenatein, Official
Dr. Jan. Matys, Deputy Secretary
Dr. Jaroelav NovU, Official
Gustav Steiner, Steiner Bros.
Ing. Arthur Sykora
Henry Waldea, Waldea & Co.
Max Werthelmer, J. Wertheimer & Co.
The Export Aieoeiation of Bohemia, SUeiia and Moravia
Rafael de Sialatnay
Rekheoberg — CAam6er ttf Commerce and Industry
Regienmgsrat Dr. Friti Carus, First Set^vtai;
Kurt Grohinaim, Teplitz-Schonau, Bohemia
Paul Hielle, Hielle & Wuosche, SchOnlinde, Bohemia
Juhufl Hille, Hille & Muller, Schdnau near Schluckenau, Bohemia
Clemens Jaeger, SchOnbQchel near SchCnlinde, Bohemia
Johann Elinger, Zeidler near Rumburg, Bohemia
63
Digitized byGoOgIC
64 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
neona — Chamber of Commeret and Indtulry
Josef Vmzl, Jr., EUaabethstralie 1, Vieiui&
Dr. Max von Tayenthal, Stubenring 8, Vienna I
Arnold Bardas, Edler von Bardenau, AuhofstraQe 12, Vienna XIII
Ferdinand Frank], WahringerstraOe 2, Vienna IX
Alfred Eeinnheimer, LiextatraQe 1, Vienna I
Hans Jauner von SchroSenegg, Hotel Sacher, Vienna I
Arthur Klein, HCrlgaaae 7, Vienna IX
E^nst KrauBe, Vienna
Rudolf Otto MaaBB, Wallfiaehgaase 10, Vienna I
Dr. Gustav Roeauer, Zelinkagaaae 9, Vienna I
Mrs. Emilio StubeuvoU, HelferetorferetraBe 4, Vienna I
Auociatum of Colonial Produce MereharUt
Joeef Vinsl, Jr., ElisabethstraQe 1, Vienna
Austrian Export Sodetg
Adolf Schwan, Firet Secretary, Schwansenbergplati 4, Vienna m
Central Anodation of Aiatrian MerehanU
JoBef Vinjl, Jr., EliaabetlwtraBe 1, Vienna
Lower Awtrian AMoeiation for Ui« PTomoHon Of Handicraft
Emat KiAuse, Vice-President
MaMifaeturen' Attociation
Felix Neumann, Weidertorgawe 7, Vienna I
Merchant*' Quild
Josef Vind, Jr., Elisabethstrafle 1, Vienna
Participant
Paul yon Boschen, Vienna III
J. F. Votruba, 11 Tjlovo 1, Fntgoe
Offieial Ddegaie Nommated bj/ Qooemmenl
Dr. Edmund Kunoai, Asaistant Secretary, Royal Hungarian Ministry of Conunerce
Ar«d — Chamber of Commeree and Induitty
Dr. Louia Varjaesy, Secretary
Budapest — National Hungarian Commvreial Auoeiittiim
Berthold de Furrt, Viee-Preeident
Dr. Alexander Katona, Secretary
Dr. Paul Siende, General Secretary
H'ongarian Nalional Asaocialion of Chemical Indvtlrj/
Dr. GuBtavus Bokor, Secretary
Debrecien — Chamber of Commerce and Indutlry
Geza Kaciiany
Julea Salvay, Secretary
Gror — Chamber of Commerce and Indvatry
Dr. Henri Eallofl
Paul Kuffler, B. Kuffler Co.
Maurice Ssendroi, Secretary
.Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Kun — Chamher of Commerte and Induttry
Leo Perfiney
Albert Scholts, Mat«ocs
Dr. AlscUr Sipoas, Secretary
Andrew Juliiu Sipooe, Preeident
Aiadir Wein, Keetmut, Dep. Ssepes
Hagyrmimd — Oumtbtr of Commerce and Induatry
Dr. Louis Sarkadi, Secretary
Oilj«k-Es»k (CKMtia-StaTOilia) — Chamber of Cemmeree and IndMlTy
CedomJl MibocinOTio-FlaTBic, Deputy
Ssogod — Chamber of Commerce and Indutlry
Louis Perjessy, Secreitary
Joseph Toth, Director School of Commerce
Official DdegaU Nominated by Oovemmenl
P&ul Hoganaiu, Consul General to the United States, Philaddphia, Pa.
Brtusels — Chamber of Commerce
Adolphe Chailet, Viofr-Prasident
Leon Chauseette
Judge Louis lAsard
Union dee Auoeialion* InlemaiionalM
Urb&in J. Ledous '
Ghent — Cercle Commercial et Indmlriel
Charles Christophe, Secretary
Mons — ChatiAer of Commerce and Induttry
Louis C&non-L^mnd, President; President Lit«mational Congreea of Chambers
of Commerce
&nile Jottrand, General Secretary; Secretary International Congress of Chambers
of Commerce
Partidpanls
Edouard Duet, Toumai
Marc Frison, Toumai
Henry Lechoux, Rue de ht Ferme, 25, Brussels
Adrien Louvois, Rue de U Feime, 2S, Y
Cttfieiol Delegate Nominated by Government
Adolfo Balliviin, Consul General, New York, N. Y.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Official Delegaiet Nominated bjf Government
Count Candido Mendes de Almeida, Director of the Commercial Museum, Rio de Jaoeiio
Manuel Jacintho Feneira da Cunha, Consul General, New York, N,Y.
Dr. Manuel da Coata Barradaa, Commercial Attach^ of Embassy, Wasliiogton, D. C.
MantOB — Commereial Atwciaiutn
Manuel Lobato
Commercial Aitodation of the Amaam
A. W. St«dman, 77 Summer St., Boston
Rio de Janeiro — Academy of Commerce
Count Candido Mendea de Almeida, Director Commercial Museum
Commercial Aitoetation
Count Candido Mendes de Almeida
Commercial Mveeum
Count Candido Mendes de Almeida
Council of the Merchanle and Skip Broken
Count Candido Mendee de Almeida
Federation of Commercial Auociaiions of BraxU
Count Candido Mendes de Almeida
International Chamber of Commeree of Bnml
Manuel Jacintho Ferreira da Cunha
Santos — Commercial AttociaUon
Charles W. Walker, Arbuckle & Co., New York
(Official Delegates Nominated by Qovemment
Horace Newton Fisher, Consul, Boston, Mass.
Ricardo Sanchea, Consul General to the United States, New YoA, N. Y.
Richard J. Leopold, Consul, Baltimore, Md.
Sutiago — Sociedad de Fomento FabrU
Horace Newton Fisher
David Montt, Avenida de las Delicias 2310
Tancredo Pinochet, 414 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, Pa.
Participant
Georges Petitjean, Santiago
CHINA
Official Ddegatee Nominated hy Oovemmerd
Dr. Chin-too Qien, M. S., Former Minister of Finance in the Nanking Qovemment
Ching-Chun Wang, Aaaietant Director of the Peking-Mukden Railffay, Peking
Fu Liang, Canton, Ministiy of Industiy and Commerce
Chiao Chung Tan, Commercial Attach^ of Legation, Washington, D. C.
Chung Wen-pang, Second Secretary of Legation, Washington, D. C.
Hongkong — Ste Yap Commercial OvUd
Louey Po Sang
Yang Sai Ngom
Yong Bang Eok
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBEE8 OF COMMERCE
aumglud — General Chamber of Commerce
Joseph Reed PatterBon
Charles R. Scott, iDtem&tional Btuiking Coip.
John P. Seaman, Winner & Co.
Eween £. Yang
COLOBIBU
Official DdegaU Nominated by Goeemment
Dr. Don Jorge Vargas, Consul, Boston, Maaa.
Participant
Don Vicente Martinez R., Cartagena
COSTA BICA
Official DdegaUt Nominated by Govemmenl
F. Peralta, San Joe6
Samuel E. Pisa, San Joed
Official Delegatet Nominated by Government
Antonio Martin Rivero, E. E. & M. P., Waahington, D. C.
J. T. Monahan, 1 WaU St., New Yoric, N. Y.
Havana — Cdmara de Comercio, Induitria y Naoegad&n ds la Ida de Cuba
J. M. Andreini, 29 West 75th St., New York, N. Y.
CarloB Amoldeon
DBNHABS
Offieitd Ddegate Nominated by Ooeemmait
V.Lund
Copenhagen — Chamber of Commerce
A. C nium
CarlRubow
HansTegner
BCUADOR
Official Delegates Nominated by Government
Viomte Gonsalee, Quito, Charge d' Affaires, Waahington, D. C.
Julio L. Roman, Consul, Boston, Mass.
Qoito — Chamber of Commerce
h. E. Monge, Quito
EGYPT
Cairo — American Chamber tif Commerce for the Levant
Oonstantin Xippas, Mgr. Vacuum Oil Co. for Egypt and Palestine
Int^Ttatiorud Chamber of Commerce
Constantin Xippaa
Digitized byGoOgIC
68 INTERNATIONAL CONGREaS OF
FRANCE
AngottUme — Chamber of Commerce
Gaston Magnier
Umoges — ChatiAer of Commerce
Uon Bemardaud
HarseilleB — Syndicat dee Importatewt de Graijies OUagineutee
Paul van Haecht, 59 rue Paradis
Paris — Ameriam Chamber of Commerce
Lawrence V. Benet, 19 Boulevard des Capucines
D. Roditi, 1 rue Ambioiee-Thomaa
Bematd J. Shoninger, President
William J. Thomas, Assistant Manager American Eicpress Co. in Europe
Bdgian Chamber of Commerce
Eugbie Allard
Canulle Hi^uenin
Albert Wolfere, Vice-Preaiden.t
Brilith Chamber of Commerce
Henry F. Fletcher, Vice-Preudent
Italian Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Albert C. Bonaschi, 203 Broadway, New Yoric, N. Y.
Luigi Solan, 203 Broadway, New York, N. Y.
Ntlherlandt Chamber of Commerce
J. Pierson, J. & 0. G. Piereon
Qttoman ChairAer of Commerce
Michel Dumani
Avram Farhi, Consul General, Boeton, Mass.
Roubaiz — Chamber of Commerce
fimile Toulemonde
FRENCH POSaEBMONS— ALOIBES
Oian — Chamber of Commerce
Charles Dupuy
PhililVevilla — Chamber of Commerce
Charles Dupuy
GERMANY
Official Dtiegate Nominated by Oooemment
Wilhelm Theodor Roacke, Imperial Consul, Boston, Mass.
Aix-Ia-Chapelle — Chamber of Commerce
Albert Schiflers
Barmen — Chamber t^ Commerce
Paul Neumann, Neunuum & BQren
Rudolf Zienoh, Otto Budde & Co.
Eommeniennt Ferdinand Bartela
Beriin — Deatecker Hand^lag
Dr. Soetbeer, General Secretary, Neue FriedrichstraQe 63-64, Berlin C. 2
EiHnmavienrat Beinrioh Vogelsang, Ii«ckliiij^u8em, Westphalia
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Die AUtaten der Kaufmannselutfl turn Beriin
Prof. Dr. Max Apt, Syndic
Georg Fnuik, Niederw&llatmBe 1314, Berlin C. 19
Felix Heimium
Dr. Martin Kriele
Konunenienrat C. L. Netter, Wolf, Netter & Jacobi
Kommenienrat Max Richt«r, Emil Ebeling
ChartAer of Commerce
Dr. Otto Ehleis, M. P.
Leopold Rosenow, Rosenow & Co.
HoftdtimmlTagmierein
Eandelsrichter Hugo Mana, BocJcenheimer Landatrafie 45, Frankfurt a. M.
Kommenianrat Otto Mflnstarberg, Eund^asse 109, Danaig
Dir^tor Arthur Vrancken, Leyatapet 49, Cologne
Verband Deutteher WareO' und Kaufhauser
Justiirat Diialoscynski
American Attociaiion qf Commerce and Trade
Prof. George S. Atwood, Secretary, Friedrichstr&Ce 59-60
Bonn — Chamber qf Commerce
Heinrich Breuer, Euskirchen
Bromeu — Chamber <^ Commerce
Gottfried Koch, Postfach 472
BfMlau — Chamber nf Commerce
Max Schleeinger, ButtneratraBe 32-33
- Chamber of Commerce
EisBt Anune, Vice-President
- Chamber «f Commerce
Hon. Einst Stepban Clause, PUuie bei FlOfaa, Bazimy
C^Ofne — Chamber of Commerce
OttoBertuch
Louia Lehmann, Hofaestr&Oe 43
Ktbter Oewerbe Verein
Lndwig Koerf er
Verein der Indiulrietten del Regitnmgi Betirk
Friti Schifinan, Euakircben
Damlg — Vonldterami der KavfmanMehaft
Kommeraiairat Otto MOnaterberg, Hundegaase 109
Dnades — Chamber of Commerce
Dr. August Karst, Syndic
K(»nmenienrat Ewi I^nge, A. I^nge & Sons, GlaschQtte
Richard MatteradorfF, S. MattendorS
Bvport Verein im KOnigreieh Saehim
E. Robert BUune
Verband Siehtieeher Induebieller
Dr. Gustav Stresemann, ChriEtianstraBe 1-3
DOBMtdorf — Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Brandt
Hugo Meyer, SchlieSfach 77
EHwrf «ld — Chamber of Commerce
Eduard Gebhard. Moltkeetrafie 63
Dr. Wiedonaun, Syndic
Digitized byGoOgIC
70 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Erfurt — ChatiAer of Commtree
Edaaid KeQer-Haitmaim, ZiegenrOok (Thttiingen)
Essen — Chamber of Commerce
Ernst Simon, Werden-Ruhr
Fntnkfait a. M, — Chamber of Commerce
Georges Gottlob, Frankfurter Hof
Dr. Levin, Stadttat
Cari Hitter, Ritter'a P&rk Hot«l, Bad Hombuig near Frankfurt
Fi«idrich Thorwart, Vice-President
Dr. Hans Tnunpter, Secretary
Vereinigwtg der Bxportfirmen
Hugo Manee
Gustav Mayer-Alberti, EaisetetraSe 37
Justiirat Dr. Ludwig Hecht
Halberstadt — Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Josef Weller, Quedlinburg a. Han
KUIe — Chamber of Commtree
Alfred Hoelti, J. G. Hoelti & Sons, Naumburg a. Sa&le
Dr. Pfahl, Syiidic
C. W. Roediger, Hallesohe Maschinenfabiik und EisengieBerei
Hunborg — Chamber of Commerce
C. G«pner, Job. Diedr. Bieber
Dr. Jur. G. Arnold EiesBelbach, Syndic
Heldelboff — Ctember of Commeret
Geh. Kommenienrat Friedrich Schott, President
Heiniich Stoees, Stoees & Co.
Hildeshaim — Chamber of Commerce
Otto C. Ahlbom
Eduard Peine, SchuhstraGe
Ludwig Peine, Schuhstrafie
Kflilsiuhe — Handelikammer fdr die Kreiee Karliruke uttd Baden
Canulle Brenner, Hotel Stopbanie, Baden-Baden
Friedrich Straus, Bankhause Straus & Co.
Leipzig — Chamber of Commerce
KonuncTBienTat Sigismund J. Tobias, Tobias & Schmidt
Dr. jur. Wendtland, Secretary
Lflbeck — Chamber of Commerce
Carl F. R. ZHmpker, Dimpker & Sommer
P. A. Mann
Hannheim — Chamber of CoTnmerce
Dr. Hans Clemm
Dr. Emil Michehnann, Bens & Co.
HSngter — Chamber of Commerce
Kommenienrat Heioricb Vogelsang, Becklinghauwn, Westphalia
Ifengendorf — VeiUtnd SOchnacher IndutfridUr
Oswald Hoffinann
Nuremberg — Chamber of Commeree
Cart Hutielmeyer, Kkistiafle 6
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
PlAoen — Chmnbtr of Conmeree
Walter Muomen, Fenupiecher 8
R«K«iubiiig — Chamb«r <4 Cornneree
August Ludwig, L. S. Ludwig
EommenieDiat Ludwig Pugtet, Friedrich Pustet & Co.
Sosiwbe^ — Chamber pf Commerce
Prof. Dr. Asflchueti, Seoret«r)r
Sono — Chamber of Commerce
Paul Hennann, Naumbuig a. Saale
Stofbrac — Chamber of Commerce
Gtb. Kommenieiirat Wilhelm Hoeeoh, Ebertiard Howoh ft Sous, DOren
Stnttgart — Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Ernst Klien
Trier — Chamber of Commerce
Hugo Lower, H. Loeeor ft Co.
WfiRbnrg — Chamber of Commerce
Eommeraienrat Friti Ijotg, Vioe-Chairman
FarHcipanli
C&rl GroBB, M. Gladbach
Adolf Hartmanii, HaimoTer
GREAT BRITAIN AHD BRITISH POSSESSIONS
The ddegaUe from the variou* portion* of Ihe BritUk Empire are lieled under the eeveral a
atiluent eowUriee. The total nvmier of the iMegatee u 102
Official Ddegale ffominaled by Ooeemmenl
Hon. Thomas E. E^rakine, Britiah Consul General, St. Louia, Missouri
Buiow-in-Fnmass — Chamber of Commerce
Alfred Aslett, General Manager Fumeas Railway Co.
Birkenhead — Chamber of Commerce
David B. Adamson
Bradford — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce
John Bland
W. W. Ryoroft, Drake HiU, Bingley, Yorkshire
Richard C. Thyne, Moororoft, Yeadon near Leeds
W. A. WhiWhead, J. P.
Bradford Dyers' AieooiaHon
Richard C. Tbyne, Moorcroft, Yeadon near Leeds
Bristol — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce and Skipping
G. PoUiser Martfai, Argyle House, Pembroke Road, CUfton, Bristol
Cbeltenhun — Chamber qf Commerce
George Dimmei', J. P. Cotteswold, Leckhampton HiD near Cheltenham
H, St. C. Bowto-Eraiu, 20 I^nsdowne Place
Digitized byGoOgIC
72 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
CroTdon — Chamber of Commtree
L. H. Turtle, President
Derby — Chamber of Commerce
G. A. Longden, Stanton-by-Dale, Nottingham
Sndley — CAomber of Commerce
F. W. Cook, J. P., Vice-President
Halitez — IncorporaUd Chamber of Comtneree
John Annitage Drake, J. P., Mesera. Drake, Ltd. .
Hndderafield — IncorporaUd Chamber of Commote
Edward J. Bruce, J. P., Crowther, Bnioe & Co., Ltd.
Unrpool — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce
Robert V. G. Adamson, Frank Hamilton & Co.
James R. Barbour
Price Jones, Marplee, Jones & Co.
London — Briiitk Imperial Cotmcit of Cammtree
F. Faithfull Begg, FaithfuU Begg & Co.
Hon. J. G. Jenkins, 27 Clements Lane
Q. FaUiser Martin, Stephens Bros. & Martin, Bristol
ChanAer of CoTnmieree
F. Faithfull Be«g, Bartliolomew House, E. C.
Sir John E. Bin^tam, Bart., Walker & Hall, Sheffield
Harold A. E. Christie, B. A., F. R. A. S., Deepdole, WoUingbam, Sun«7
J. E. Erans^ackson
R. S. Fraser, 4 Finsbury Circus, E. C.
Jacob Heilbom, 17 Hotbom Viaduct, E. C.
Hon. J. G. Jenkins, 27 CInnente Lane
A, Barton Kent, 75 Farrington Road, E. C.
Sir Joeeph liwrence, 188 Fleet St., E. C.
Alfred Lohnatein, 13 London WaU, E. C.
Dr. Rudolph Messel, Managing Director Spencer, Chapman A Messet, Ltd.
Edward R. P. Moon
C. D. Morton, 0. & E. Morton, Ltd.
Graham Spicer, F. R. G- S., 19 New Bridge St.
W. J. Thompson, 38 Mincing Lane, E. C.
Thomas Usher, 72 St. Mary's Mansions, Paddington, W.
WhoUaale Suaiaaer^ Auociatim
Graham Spicer, F. R. O. S., 19 New Bridge St.
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Henry F. Fletcher, Vice-President, British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, Tnnat
Dr. Frank B. Vroomao, Authors' Club, WhitehaU Court, B. W.
iSiDediaA Chamber <4 Commerce
F. Heniiksson, 35 Vineyaid Road, Wimbledon, S. W.
notdngham — Chamber of Commeree
W. H. Blackburn
John Boot, St. Heliers, Paik Drive
Paul Meyer, 1 Peiham Crescent, The Park
Reftdlog — Chamber of Commerce
ArUiur Newbery, Friar and Queen Victoria Sts,
Sheffield — Chamber of Commerce
Sydney Jeasop Robinaon, William Jeesop & Sons, Ltd.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Wakefield — IneorporaUd Chamber qf Commerce and Shipping
A. Taylor White
WalMll — Incorporated Chamber o} Commerce
Alfred Dewabury, John Dewsbuiy & 8011, Ltd.
Joseph A. Leckie, Ji^ Leckie & Co.
Chulee C. Walker
Sidney G. Wheway, The Shiubbeiy, Sytton Road
IRELAND
Cork — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce and Skipping
Benjamin H&u^ton, J. P., Cork Timber & Iron Co., Ltd.
Dublin — Chamber of Commerce
Richard E. Gamble, B. L., J. P., Honoraty Secretary
William P. Odium, J. P., Huntington, Portarlington, Ire.
SCOTLAND
Aberdeen — Chamber of Commerce
Jamea C. Glegg, J. P., Glegg, Thomas, Ltd.
Geoi^ Hutcbeaon, 47 Marischal St.
Dundee — Chamber of Commerce
William Mackeniie, 22 Meadowside
Sdinbtutfi — Chamber of Commerce and Manvfaetftren
James Cormaek, J. P., Leitb
Young J. Pentland, Duncliffe, Murrayfield
Letth — Chamber of Commerce
James Cormaek, J. P.
ADEN, ARABU
Aden — Chamber of Commerce
HormuBJee Cowasjee Dinahaw
AUSTRALU
Official DdegaU Nominated hy Qavemment
Right Hon. Sir George Houston Reid, P, C, G. C. M. G.
Helbonme — ChanAer of Commerce
Randal J. Alcock
Pied Thonemann
BAHAMAH
Nantn — The Bahamat Chamber of Commerce
R. H. Curry
T. a. Johnson
Hon. J. F. W. Turtle, Vice-Chaimuui
BERMUDA
Chamber of Commerce
John P. Hand
Eugene C. Peaiman
Sir Thomas J. Wadoon
Digitized byGoOgIC
74 INTEENATIONAL CONGRESS OF
BRITISH EAST AFRICA
Nairobi — Chamber a/S (7omm«rea
Percy Chapliii
CAKADA
HonctMi — Board of Trade
W. H. Price, Secretary
Hootreal — Board o/ Trade
Col. Jeffrey E. Burlutd, 2 Pkce d'Armes Square
Chambre de Commerce
C. H. Catelli
Joseph Fortier
Arthur Lemoat
New Wttstminster — Board (^ Trad«
Jamea B. Eenmedy
Ottswa — Board of Trade
J. Fred Booth
George S. May, Preadent
Thomaa Woriauan, 301 Wellmgton St.
Qnebec — Board of Trade
G. A. Vandry, Es-Preeident
Toronto — Board of Trade
W. J. Gsg«, Ez-Preeident
W. G. MacKendrick
INDIA
Calcutta — Bengtd Chamber of Commerce
Hon. Norman McLeod, McLeod & Co.
Delhi — Punjab Chamber of Commtree
Lionel Collins, A. Frausstadt, Amritaar, Funjid)
Participant
Dr. Shiv Nath Kapoor, 107 Bunder Road, Karachi City, East India
JAMAICA
KingBton — Royal Jamaica Sodely of AgrieuUure and Commerce & Merehantt' Exchange
Reginald Melhado
NEW ZEALAND
Auckland — Cftam6er of Commerce
Col. G. W. 8. Patterwn
Christchurch — Canlerhttrs/ Chamber of Commerce
Gilbert Anderson, 6 Holbom Viaduct, London, England
Albert Eaye, Kaye & Carter
Donedin — Chamber of Commerce
Alexander Stronach Paterson
Inreicargil] — Chamber of Commerce
Alexander Stronach Paterson, Dunedin
Kapln — Chambw <4 Commerce
V. J. Ryan, C. H. Crauby A Co.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Wragsinii — ChatiA«r ef Comment
LeoDArd E. Baaeett
Alfred Burnett
Allan RobinaoD
Wcfllncton — Chamber of Commerce
Albert Kaye, Kaye & Carter, Cbriatclumb
AlexandeT Stronach Fat«rBon, Dunedin
SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town — South African Mam^aetttrerg' Auoeiatum
William J. Laite, General Secretary
Port of Spain — Chamber of
T. Geddee Grant
miliam8<»tt
Athens — Amttiam Chamber tf Commerce for the Levant
Bemhard MellisBinoe, Athens
GUATEMALA
Official DeUgatea Nominated by Qooemment
A. C. Garcia, Consul, Boston, Maes.
William A. Mosman, Vice-Consul, Boston, Mass.
Oficial Dekgale Nominated bj/ Oovemm*nt
Dr. Don Alberto M«nbreno, B. E. & M. P. of Honduras, Washington, D. 0.
TTALT
Official Ddegatet Nominaitd by Qofemmeat
S. E. Qnnd TTfE. Marchese Gerolomo Cusani Confalonieri
Hon. Gustayo di Rosa, Royal Consul, Boston, Mass,
Ing. Grand Uff. Angelo Sahnoiraghi, Fieaident Milan Chunbw of Conuneroe
- Chamber ttf Commerce and Induttry
Aleaaandro Drtfwdetti, via Botola 20
Bergamo — Chamber <tf Commerce
Luip LooateUi, Piassa Cayour 3
Catania, Slcflf — Chamber <tf Commerce
TJgoDonateUi
Anguato Morosoli
CatMlsaiO — Chamber of Commerce
Baira Ant<mio De Gruia, via Venti Settembre 11
Digitized byGoOgIC
76 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
Florence — ChanAer of Commerce and Indtulry
Dante Antoliui, 45 Broadway, New York, N. Y.
I.ecco — Chamber of Commerce
Cav. Giorgio Enrico Falck, via Monte Napoleone 7
Giuseppe Sola
Lncca — Chamber of Commerce and Indiufry
Luigi Solari, 203 Broadway, New York, N. Y.
Hilan — Chamber of Commerce
Carlo Paini, viale Romsna 23
Senator Ing. Angelo Stdmoiraghi, Preeident
Cav. Aw. Edmondo Valdiseira, General Secretary
AjrioultuTai Auodation of Lombardy
Carlo Paini, viale Romana 23
Aieociatione fra Commercianti, Etereenti ed InduttriaU
Maroo Boghen, via Tortona 15
Giuseppe Carletti, viale Monforte 4
Cav. Giorpo Enrico Fsick, via Monte Napoleone 7, Leeca
Conun. Giuseppe Janni
Cav. Cesare Ponti, Fortici Settentrionali 15
Francesco Foneoni, via Brolo 2
Dr. AvT. Enrico Rajnoldi, Corso Venecia 61
Cav. Pietro Vallardi, via Moaoova 40
Astoeianone fra Commercianti ed Induttnali in Pdiieeerie
Emilio Poui, corso Magenta 80
Ateoeiaziane Grwutria
Carlo Paini, viale Romana 23
areola per gli Iniereeti AgriaJi, Commercbdi ed IndMtriali
Ceaare Goldmann, via Stefano Jacini 6
Contortio fra gli Induelriali meccanici e metalhirgiei
Riccardo Radaelli, via Vittoria Colonna, N. 2
Pederanone Commereiale e IrtduitriaU lUUiana
Marco B<«lien, via Tortona 15
Federatione Internaxionale Cotoniera
Aw. Roberto Poiii, via Monte di Pietft 11
— Chamber of Commerce
Cav. Rag. Feimo Comi, Fieaident
Dr. Guido Comi
Magg, Cav. Giulio Fomiig^ni-Nacniani, via Scalie 3
Dr. Emilio Malateeta, via S. Giovanni del Cantone 4
Dr. Joseph Satotti
Dr. Ferruocio Testi, Rua Muio 20
UoBza — Federatione InduttriaU
Dr. Tullio FoBsati
Ifa^es — American Chamber qf Commerce in Ilaljf
Robert C. Arbib, Tripoli, Nortt Africa
Padua — Chamber c^ Commerce
Dr. Gino do Benedetti, via 8. Sofia 41
Some — Chan&et of Commerce and Indwtry
Gulienetti Guido
Sota — SotietA Anonima Banehiero
Ing. Giovanni Groaao
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMEBCE!
— AuociatioM QmeroU Mtrcenti, eommereianH ed indwlriali
Hennann Leidhcniser, via Breiw 6, Milan
Giuaeppe Magnino, Cuorgne
Cav. Eugenio Oderio, via S. Anaelmo 4
Cav. UfT. Paolo TimosBi, President, coreo Massimo d'Aseglio 76
Partia'panU
Ambrogio Bniaotti, via Vittoria 40, Milan
Comm. Luigi Buffoli, ootso S. Celao 6, Milan
Emanuele Celania
Cav. Aw. Ceeara Dalmaui, via PoU^uo 840
Franco Fachini, Milan
Prof. Stefano Fachini, Director Scuola Induatiia Olii e Graesi, Milan
Dr. Adolfo Giro, Padua
Dr. Giuseppe E. Hen, via ManEoni 3S, Milan
Eroole Maidli, casella poetale 1254, Milan
lag. Roberto Naef, via Senato 28, Milan
OtUvio Negri, Biella
Quintino Negri, Biella
Grand Uff. Ptoi. Luigi Pagliani, via Bidone 37
Paolo Puricelli, via Carlo Cattaneo 1, Milan
Cav. E^meato Reinach, via Lario 90, Milan
Luigi Scandioglio, via Foro Bonaparte 60, Milan
Giuseppe Squindo, via Montecuccoli 9
Ing. Giulio Tosi, L^nano
Ing. Mario Vicatj, corso Vittorio Emanuele 63
JAPAM
Official DdegaUt NowintOtd by Government
Y. Numano, Acting Conaul General, New Yoric, N. Y,
Shinkichi Tamura, Vice-President of the Kobe Chamber of Commnoe
Kobe — Chamber <^ Commerce
Shinkichi Tamura, Vice-Preaident
Tokio — Chamber of Commerte
Reitaro Ichinomiya, 56 Wall St., New Yoric, K. Y.
Yokohama — Chamber <4 Commeree
Iwao Nishi, 5 Itchome Taukiji, Eiobashi-ku, Tokio
HBXICO
Official Ddegatee Nominaied by OoMmmeKl
J. Acevedo, Consul, Boston, Mass.
Don Enrique Martine* Sobral, Mexico Citjt, Mexico
DcHsingo Valdes Llano, Hidalgo No. 121, Monteirey, N. L.
Honnotdlo — Chamber of Commerce
Adolfo Ruii
Vora Crux — National Chamber iff Commerce
J, Acevedo, Consul, Boaton, Mass.
Digitized byGoOgIC
78 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
HXTHERLARDS
Offiaal DeUgaie Nominated by Ooeemment
A. T&n de S&nde Bakhuyien, Consul Qeneial, New York, N. Y.
Amsterdam — Chamber of Comtntrce and Indutlry
M. E. Yonker, H. Yonker A Son
Rotterdam — Chamber oS Commerce and Indutlry
W. Weetermon, Boomjee 78
nibnrg — Chamber of Commerce and Indvetry
Leon Bruydle, H. Bruyelle
Jules de Beer, President
P. W. Maas, Paleisstraat lS-20
NORWAT
Official DelegaieB Ifominated by Oovemment
Dr. Albert Bolcbea, Christiania
Christiaa B. Lorentxen, Chrietiania
K. Oppegaard, Chiiatiania Bryggeri, Chriatiania
Johan 8t«en, Steen & Strom, Chriatiania
B«rgen — La Bowee de Bergen
Kriatian Jebaen, Managing Director Bergen's Private Bank
Kriatian Lehmkuhl, Managing Director Bergen B. B. Co.
Johan Ludw. Mowinckel
Christiania — Den Nonke Exporlnaritigere Land^orbund
Dr. Albert Balchoi, Secretai;
Christian B. Lorentsen
Den Nor^te F<^iefforeninfi for Saandverk IndwlH
E. Oppegaard, Christiania Bryggeri
Den Noreke Handeieeianda FaOe^orening
Johan Rjre Holmboe, Preeideut Tiomaa Handelaatands, Tromaa
Christian B. Lorentzen
Johan Steen, Steen & Strom
Chamber of Commerce
Cath, Bang
Johan Steen, Steen & Strom
HandeltHande Forening
Johan Steen, Steen A Strom
PANAUA
OfficUd DeUgale Nominated by Qovermnent
Ramon Ariaft-Feraud, Central Ave., Panama, R. P.
FarticiparA
Erie Barixam, Eric Baiiiam & Co., Panama
Official Ddegate Nominated by Ooeemment
Miisa Ali'Euli Khan, Charge d'Afiaires, Washington,
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMEBCE
PSRU
Official Delegate ffominaled bj/ Government
Manuel de Frejrre y Saatander, First Becrettuy of the Legation, Washington, D. C.
Callao — Chaiaber of Commeree
Federico A. Peiet, E. E. & M. P., Waahington, D. C.
Unu — Chamber cf Commerce
Federico A. Peset, E. E. & M. P., Waahington, D. C
Stock Exchange
Federico A. Peiet, E. E. & M. P., Washington, D. C.
Finn — Chamber iff Commerce
Pedro V. Rubio
Official Ddegalea Nomiitated by Qoeemment
Oscar Potier, Consu] General, New Yoric, N. Y.
Jorge da Silveira Duarte de Almeida, Cmuul, Boston, Maes.
BiTaa — ComToerdal and Imhutrial AModaHon
Jaointbo Lopee
Lisbon — AgricuUural, Commercial and Indueltial Union
Jorge da Silveira Duarte de Almeida, Consul, Boston, Maae.
William Q. Andrew
Paul Gttutier du Vignal
Centra Cdcnial
Manoel P. M. d'Ahneida
CharlM K. Seipa
Commercial Aeeociaiion
Dr. Manoel Garcia Monteiro, Cambridge, Mass.
Geographical Society
Dr. Joaquim Leit«, Jr.
SHtith Chamber of Commerce <4 Portugal
John Cassels, Villa Xova de Gajra and Oporto, Lisbon
Participant
Henrique Joed Montiero de Mendenoa, R. Marquee de FTont«ira 20, Lisbon
PORTUGUESE POSSESSIONS— AZ0EB8
PonU Delgado, SXo Hignel — Cimi Dietrict
Edgardo Garcia
Cornmerdtd AuociatUm
Edgardo Garcia
ROUMAHU
Bochuttst — American Chamber of Commerce for the Leoard
Leon P. Abramovitx, Galea Mosilor 80
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
RUSSU
Baku, TranscaocaBla, Asistic Riutia — Chamber of Commerce
M. I. Dassell, 8t«ppuhn Bros., BaJcu
St. Petersburg — Rwto-Bnliak Chamber of Commerce
Chorlee G. PstterBon, Patt«S8on, Wylde Co., Boflton, Mass.
Tarsaw — AKOciaUon of Poliah Merchantt
George Loth
Participant
A. J. FomilyBiit, St. Peterabu^
SPAIN
Official Ddegaltt NominaUd b]/ Government
Don Carlofl Prast, Madrid
Don M&nuel Walls y Merino, First Secretary of L^ation and Chaq;^
d' Affaires, WashingtOD, D. C.
Barcelona — Chamber qf Commerce
Don Eduardo Agusti, Morq. Montroig 33
Don Carlos Prast, Madrid
Fomenio del Trabajo Nadonal
Don Eduardo Agusti, Marq. Montroig 33
Gerona — Offi/cial Chamber of Commerce, Induttry and Nanffolion
Don Eduardo Agusti, Marq. Montroig 33, Barcelona
Don Carlos Frast, Madrid
Madrid — Official Chamber cf Commerce of the Province
Don Eduardo Agu^ Marq. Montroig 33, Barcelona
Don Carlos Prast
Official Chamber of Induetry of the Prarinee
Don Carloa Praat
VaOadolid — Offiidal Chamber of Commerce and Induttry
Don Carlos Prast, Madrid
Saiagosaa — Offieial Chamber qf Commerce and Indxutry
Don Carlos Praat, Madrid
Pofttctpani
Salvador Dies, Jr., Jerei de la Frontcni
SWm>EN
Official Delegates Nominated hy Government
Olof Hjorth, Director Sandviken Ironworks Co., Ltd., Sandviken, Sweden
Birger C. A. Roaentwiat, Royal Vic»0>D8ut, Boston, Mass.
Gsfie — ChatiAer of Commerce
Olof Hjorth, Sandviken
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
StocUiolm — Gentral Export AaaodaHon of Sv>edtn '
John Hammar, Managing Director
Bengt Ljungbeis^, Secretary
Chamber of Commerce
Joeef Sachs, Aktidralaget Nordisks Compaoiet
Participant*
T. GrSnwall, Aktiebolaget Nordiaka Companiet, Btockhohn
Tom Lindb^, Oen. Mgr. FideUty Trading Co., New York, N. Y.
SWirZERLAND
Official DeUgaUt Naminaled by Govemmeni
Dr. Alfred Georg, Viee-Preeident Chamber of Commerce, Genera
Henri Martin, Secretaty of Legation, Washington, D. C.
I — Chamber of Commerte
Dr. Alfred Geoift Vice-President
John L. Gignoux
Dr. William Rappard, Professor of Political Economy, Harvard Vniveraity, Cam-
bridge, Mass.
ni» Union <4 Commeree and Indjuiry
Dr. Alfred Georg, Vice-President, Chamber of Commerce, Genera
Louis Junod, Vice-Consul, New York, N. Y.
TDUCBY
ConitenHnopIc — HdJenie Chamiba- qf Commeree
AuKUSt« Th. Sinadmo, 53 State St., Boet<m, Mass.
AirMrteon Chamber of Commerce for the Levant
C. D. Constantinidis, Fulias & Co.
Jules A. Fresco
CariHobteui
Albert R. MacEuaiok, Boston, Msss.
E. H. Mill, Strong & Trowbridge Co.
W. C. Mountain, Stock & Mountain
Hon. Gabriel Bie Ramdal, American Consul General, Constantinople
Theo. Reppen
Tnbiiond, Asia Hinof
C. Candilis
O. Maholdan
Isaiah Monteeanto, American Consul, Trebiiond
John G. Fhostiropoulo
Smyrna
James W. WfUdnson
The other delegatei of the American Chamber of Commeree for the Levant who a
urtder their retpeetwe cmmtrie*, are aifoUowi:
Constantia Xippas, Cairo, Egypt
Bemh&rd Mellissinos, Athens, Greece
Leon P. Abramoriti, Bucharest, Roumania
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
UniBD STATES OF AHBRICA
Official Dtiegaiet NoTtHnaled by Gtwmmtnt
AJbratUB H. Baldwin, Bureau of Manufactures, Waahington, D. G.
William M. Bunke, The Bcighton, Waahington, D. C.
Chariefl Lyon Chandler, American Consular Aesiatant, Washington, D. C.
Charlee Lee Cook, Department of State, Washington, D. C.
J(^ A. Craddock, I^ndibur^ Va.
John Foord, New York Journal of Commeroe, New York, N. Y.
Frank D. La Lanoe, Board of Trade, Philadelphia, Pa.
Charles P. NeiU, Bureau of Labor, Washington, D. C.
Charles M. Pepper, Foreign Trade Adviser, Department of State, Washington, T>. C.
Jamee W. Porch, Presidaat New Orieans Progceeeive Union, New Orleans, Ia.
Hon. Gabriel Bie Ravndal, American Consul General, Constantinople, Turkey
Hon. Thomas Sammons, American Consul General, Yokohama, Japan
Hanj A. Wheeler, Preadent, Chamber of Commerce of the United States, 7 So.
Dearborn St., Chicago, 111.
Bureau c/ Manviaebura, Wathmffion, D. C.
Balph M. Odell, Department of Commerce and Labor, WaahingbMi, D. C.
Chamber of Commerce of the United SUxlee of America
John Joj* Eldson, Director
A. B. Farquhar, York, Fa.
Ludwig NiBsen, New Yoric, N. Y.
William B. Thompson, New Orleans, La.
August H. Vogel, Milwaukee, Wis.
American Manvfacturert' ETport Aeeociaiion
Elmer H. Allen, Shirley, Mass.
John W. Anderson, Detroit, Mich.
M. de Moreira, 112 Duane St., New York, N. Y.
H. L. Gemberling, The Sherwin-Williams Co., NewaA, N. J.
Edward A. Keith, Campello, Mass.
W. E. Leigh
William C. Redfield, President
Nalionai AstociaHon qf Mamffaetwera
WiUiam M. Benney, Manager Foreign Trade Dept., New Yoik, N. Y.
J. P. Bird, General Manager, New York, N. Y.
George T. Coppins, Vice-President for Massachusetts, Boston, Mass.
St«ven de Cseemak
Jrfm Kirby, Jr., President, New York, N. Y.
H. £. Miles, Racine SaUley Co., Racme, Wis.
Col. George Pope, Pope Mfg. Co., Hartford, Conn.
NaUonai Board of Tradt
Caleb H. Canby, 8 Board of Trade, Chicago, Dl.
Hon. miliam H. Douglas, New Yoik, N. Y.
SYank D. La Lann^ Philadelphia, Pa.
AToMomil BvtineM League of America
Frauds T. Simmons, Chicago, HI.
Benjamin J. Rosenthal, Chicago, Dl.
Akron, Ohio — ChanAer of Commerce
Vinctttt S. St«Tens, Secretary
8. F. Ziliox, President
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Albuj, II, T. — Chamber ef Commertx
Fnmk C. Herrick, 610 Broadw&j'
J&mes H. PeAins, National Commerci&l Bank
Baltimore, Ud. — Board of Trade
H. Findlay French, Secretary
W. H. Maltbie, PKsident IVavelers' and MochantB' Asaociation
F. A. Meyer, Vice-Presideiit
Theodore Mottu
Bancor, Maine — Maine State Board i4 Trade
Edward M. Blanding, Seoretaij, Bangor
Hon. Fredraie E. BooUiby, President, Portland, Me.
Timothy F. Callahan, Treasurer, Lewiaton, Me.
Bay City, Hlch. — Board of Commeree
Justin A. Runyan, Secretary
Bfandai^um, Ala. — Chatniber qf Commerce
S. M. Adler
JohnL. Eaul
J. W. Sibley
Leo K. Steiner
Boston, Mass. — Chamber <^ Commerce
Hon. Eugene N. Foes, Goremor of Massachueetts
Hon. John F. Fit^^erald, Mayor of Boetoo
Ebner J. BUsa, 268 Summer St.
Robert J. Bottomly, Barristers' Hall
William E. Butler, Second Vice-Preudent, BO Tremont St.
Samuel B. Capen, Preddent Maaaachuaetts Peaoe Society
J. Randolph CooUdge, Jr., First Vice-President, 89 SUte St.
William C. Downs, New York, N. Y.
John H. Fahey, 1111 Tranont Building
Edward A. Filene, 426 Waahingtoo St.
Edwin Ginn, 29 Beacon St.
Charles S. Haight, New YoA, N. Y.
W. M. H^B, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
James A. McKibben, Secretary
Edwin D. Mead, 40 Mt. Vemon St.
Bernard J. RMhwell, 608 Chamber of Commerce Building
Joseph B. RusseU, President, 114 State St.
Hon. Charles H. SherriU, 20 East 05th St., New York, N. Y.
George S. &nith, SO Congress St.
Jamea J. Storrow, 44 State St.
F. W. Taussig; Professor Harvard Unirersity, Cambridge, Mass.
James T. WetbenJd, 221 Cohmiboa Ave.
Robert Winaoi, 115 Dertmahire St.
Frait and Produce Exchange
Alton E. Brigga, Exeeuttve Seorertaiy
AUied P. Lee, Preaident
Jean 8. Newoomb, Vioe-Pnsident
Digitized byGoOgIC
84 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
MattaekuaeUt State Board of Trade
AugiutuB M. Bearae, FootDuster, Middleboro, Mase.
J. C. Bennett, 1S6 Commercial St., West Lynn, Mass.
Judge Loyed E. Cluunberiam, 143 Hi^iland St., Brockton, Ma».
Walstein R. Chester, Treasiirer
John H. Corcoran, 587 MaaeachuBetta Ave., Cambridge, Maae.
Theodore Glover Fillette, 6 BeMon St.
Reddington Fiake, Needham, Mass.
Richard L, Gay, Secretary, 6 Beacon St.
John Hopewell, 87 Franklin St.
James Y. Noy«a, Dedbam, Masa.
Edtnrd S. Payson, 395 Boylaton St.
Charles H. Stevens, Arlington, Man.
I. H. WUey, 77 Portland St., Boston, Masa.
Nob England Hardware Dealen' Atioeiation
D. Fletcher Barber, 124 Summer St.
F. Alexander Chandler, 30 Federal St.
Henry M. Sanden, Z7 Eliot St.
Ntw Enifiand Shot and Leather Auodation
Elisha W. Cobb, 78 South St.
Charles C. Hoyt, President, 56 Lincoln St.
Aeal Ettate Exdumge and Avetion Board
Hon. Charles Francis Adams, 2d, President
Frederic H. Viaujt, Secretary-Treasurer
LeaUe C. Wead, 35 Congress St.
Slationen' Aetodation
Frank W. Bailey, 64 FranUin St.
Abner E. Pratt, 13 Franklin St.
Oeorge C. Whittemore, 105 State St.
Bnflalo, N. T. — Chamber <tf Commerce
William E. Robertson, 37 Court St.
Maurice M. Wall
Chicago, HI. — Aeeoeiaium ^ Commerce
Joseph H. De Frees
Frederick A. Delano, Preaident Waboafa R. R.
W. R. Humphrey
Hairy Pratt Judson, LL.D., President Chicago Univeraity
Frank R. McMuUen
IdVeme W. Noyee, President Aermotor Co.
Oeorge W. Sheldon, President G. W. Sheldon Co.
Frands T. Simmons, President Francis T. Simmons Co.
John F. Stnulski
T. Edward Wdder, President Wilder 4 Co., 228 Wert L*ke St.
.Board o/ Trade
0. H. Canby, 8 Board of Trade
Robert McDougal
Chariee B. Pierce
lUinm* Manirfaelwert' Ateoeiation
George P. Blow, Western Qock Manufacturing Co., Ia Salle, BI.
LaVeme W. Noyes, President Aermotor Co., Chicago, HI.
John E. Wilder, Wilder & Co., 228 West Lake St., Chicago, HL
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBEES OF COMMERCE
Clmdimati, Ohio — BtinncM Mtn'f Clvb
MariuB R. Ribas
Chamber of Commerce
lAEard TC fth^i
Marius R. Riboe
aerttUnd, Ohio — Chamber of Commerce
Morria A. Black, Director
Walter H. Cottingham
Harvey D. Goulder
Munson Havens, Secretary
Francis F. Prentiss
Dayton, Ohio — Chamber of Commerce
Fred W. Fanaher, Secretaiy
0. N. Lingham, Manager Foreign Dept. National Cash Register Co.
Decatar, ID. — Chamber of Commerce
J. A. Corbett, Preudent
Edgai B. Tyler
DflBver, Colo. — Chamber qf Commerce
Tbomdike Deland, Secretory
Charles A. Johnson, 1020 15th St.
E. L. Scholts, Preaident Retail Aaaociatioa, Chamber of CtHomerce
Robert W. Speer
Edward J. Tetter, President
Detrc^ Midi. — Board of Commerce
John W. Andemm
George M. Block
Roy D. Ch^in
S. D. Waldoo
C. Hainea Wilson
Bunks, Calif. — Hu7nb<Mt Chamber of Commerce
Capt. Walter Coggeehall
Fall Rlrer, Haas. — Chamber of Commerce
John Summerfield Brayton
Fred^ek J. McLane, Vice-President
James T. Mihie
FftcUrnrK, Haas. — Board of Trade & Merchariie' Aaeodation
Marcus A. Coolidge, Vioe-Preeident
Herbert E. Jennison, Jennison Co.
Ralph D. Redfem, Industrial Secretaiy
Fort Worth, Texas — Chamber of Commerce
Col. Louis J. Wortham, Editor Fort Worth "Star Telegram"
Framingham, Hats. — Board <4 Trade
Gtotga L, Ayery, President
Harold B. Hayden
Edgar Potter, Secretary
0«nova, N. T. — Chamber <4 Commerce
Sidney H. Lewis, Secretary
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTEHNATIONAL CONGBESS OP
HKTOriiill, Hub. — itoori of Tnule
William W. Emerson, Ptesidoit
John E. M^^uite
Austin H. Peny
Holy^e, Mass. — Board t^ Trade
W. H. Bullard, Preddent
Morton HuU, Secretaij
F. A. McLane, Vice-Preddent
Indlatutpolia, Ind. — Commeraal Clvb
William Fortune
Frank McAllister, President
Ealamaioo, Mich. — Commercial Clvb
Louie H. Conger
KaiUM Oty, Ho. — Commercial Clvb
Charles 1. Hubbard, Boston, Mass.
K07 Wort, FU. — Chamber qf Commerce
Charles J. Curry, Secretary
Elnciton, H. Y. — Cbamiber of Commerce
Sam Bernstein, Treasurer
Herbert Cart, Director
William F. Hoehn, Secretary
Robert E. Leighton
Los Angeles, CaUf. — Chamber <4 Commerce
H. Z. Osborne, Preudent
LonlBviUe, Z-j. — Board <4 Trade
Charlea T. Ballard, Ballard A Ballard U
James F. Buokner, Jr., Superintendent
Low«ll, Hms. — BoatA of Trade
Arthur L. Gray, Hildreth Building
George M. Harrigan, Lowell Trust Co.
Claroioe H. Nelson
Lynn, Mass. — Board of Trade
Ralph S. Bauer, 31 Central Square
Halden, Haas. — Board of Trade
Frank A. Bayrd
Cbaries Schumaker, Preudent
MUwankM, Wise. — Chamber nf Commerce
3. W. P. Lwnbard
Josef Mueller
Nemik, N. J. — Board ttf Trade
Denis F. O'Brien, A. P. Smith Mfg. Co., East Orange, N. J.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
H«w Bodford, H«M. — Board <ff Trad*
Benjamin H. Astbon;
George E. Briggs
Abbott P. Smith
New Haven, Conn. — Chamber of Commerce
Robert W. Tbain, 30 Beaufort Road, Jamaica Plain, Maae.
New Londtm, Ctnm. — SlaU Bunna* Men'» Attodaiion t^f Connediait, Inc.
E. M. Dexter, Hartford, Conn.
Frank H. Johniton, New Britain, Conn.
B. E. ^^cent, Bridgeport, Conn.
R«W Orieans, In. — Progreaaitu Union
James W. Porch, President
M. B. Tresevant, Secretary
New Tork, N. T. — Board qf Trade and Trantportation
C. A. Green, R. G. Dun & Co.
Chamber qf Commeree <^ the State qf New York
Austin B. Fletcher, 166 Broadway
George E. Ide, 256 Broadway
Eugeotius H. Outerbridge, 11 Broadway
Merchant^ AuodaHon
William 0. Breed, Director
WiUiam A. Marble, First Vice-Preadent
S. C. Mead, Secretary
Henry R. Towne, President
Produce Exchange
£. R. Carhart
William Harris Douglas
Italian Chamber of Commerce in New York
C. A. Mariani, Preddent The E. Mariani Co.
Charies A. Pastene, Director, 69 Fulton St., Boston, Mass.
Luigi Solari, President
ifetherlandi Chamber qf Commerce in America
Louis I. Dubourcq, President U. S. Branch " Nederiand Life Insurance Co."
T. Greidanus, Secretary
Peter C. Kuyper, P. C. Kuyper & Co.
Swedish ChanAer t^ Commerce
Hans LagerlOf
Noidi Attieboro, Mass. — Board <4 Trade
TTiUiam H. BeU, Precddent
Passaic, If . J. — NeiB Jtney State Chamber qf Commerce
Ferdinand ^dokes, Camden, N. J.
Phlladel^ila, Pa. — Board qf Trade
Frank D. La Lanne
William R. Tucker, Secretary Philadelphia Board of Trade
Chamber c^ Commerce
Charles J. Cohen, Vice-Presidoit
John G. Croxton
WiUiam 0. Hempstead
N. B. Edly, Seinetary
Digitized byGoOgIC
88 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Commerdol Mvtewn
William S. Harvey, Premdent, 100 Broadway, New Yorit, N. Y.
Wilfred H. SohoS, Secretary
W. P. Wilson, Director
Via* BInff, AA. — Chamber qf Commerce
Samuel C. Alexander
H. C. Spaulding, Secretary
Plttrimr^ Pa. — Chambtr of Cananefct
Albert J. Logan
Logan McKee, Secretary
Poidud, Ua. — Board of Trade
Silas B.Adamfl
Charles F. Flsgg, President
Hon. Chariee F. Libby
Frank H. Low, Second Vice-Preaident
Maurice C. Rich, Secretary
Pn>?ldence, R. I. — fioord qf Trade
J. Palmer BuBtow
Frederick D. Carr
James R. MacColl, Pawtucket, R. I.
Mawjjaeturing Jeiedenf Board of Trade
Frederick A. Ballou
Frederick D. Carr, Preddent
Harold E. Sweet, R. F. Simmons Co., Attteboro, Mass.
Rome, R. T. — ChanAer i^ Commerce
Alphonse 1. Sigl, Secretary
Ridunond, Va. — Chamher qf Commwee
R. A. Dunlop
St. Louis, Ho. — Batinae Men'e Leofve
Hon. David R. Francis
Geo^e David Markham
Merehanlt' ExeKange
3. J. P. Langton
St. Paul, Hinn. — Aetodalion tff Commeree
Joseph H. Seek
W. L. Seeley
San Antonio, Texas — Chamber of Commeree
Jamee Routledge
San Francisco, Calif. — Chamber of Commerce
William M. Bunker, The Brighton, Washington, D. C.
Paul T. CarroU, Director, 708 Maiket St.
T. Cary Friedlander
R. E. Miller, 611 Mission St.
Somernlle, Hau. — Board of Trade
George E. Day, 101 Highland Ave. '
Albert L. Haskell, 424 Somerrille Ave.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Spriagfletd, Hum. — Board qf Trade
Chorlee P. Chase, Presidatt
WillJiim H. Shuart
Emmett £[»y Naylor, Secretai?
SfncnM, N. T. — Chamber of Commerce
Henry W. Cook
B. E. StOubui?
Tnj, N. T. — Chamber of Commerce
James H. Caldwell
miliam F. Gurley
WalUiun, Hau. — Board of Trade
Geoige A. Fiel, 53 High St.
G«orge E. Parmenter
H. E. Tuttle, Secntaiy
WasUnKton, D. C. — Chamber ^ Commerce
Edwin C. R«ed, 27d Squaotum St., Atlantic, MaoB.
Ptut-Amerieatt Union
Hon. John Barrett, Direetor-Qeneral
Julian Moreno-Lacalle
W«at«rir, K. I. — Board ttf Trade
Cliffoid W. CampbeU
Samuel H. Davis
Worcester, Haas. — Board of Trade
FredH. Daniela
Charles T. Tatman
Edward M. Woodward, President
PoesxssioNS or thx UNmiD Statbs of Aubica
HAWAU
Honcdtdv — Chamber of Commerce
William G. Cooke, 82 Wall St., New Yo^ N. Y.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
HanOa — Merchant4f ABMiiatitm
M. L. Stewart, 26 Broad St., New YoA. N. Y.
OJictal Ddegate Nominated by Govemmeni
Dr. Coiioe Maria de Peoa, E. E. & M. P., Washington, D. G.
Hont«vld«o — Camara MercantU de Prodnetoa del Paie
Max Otto TOD Elock, District Consul, Boston, Maae.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTEaNATIONAL CONGRESS
Official DdtgaU Nominated by Qovtmment
Pedro Rafael Rinoones, Coiuu] Qtmetei, New Yoric, N. Y.
Cuucas — Chamber of Commerce
CorneUo Stolk, Jr., 97 Water St., New York, N.Y.
,yGoog[c
permanent Committee
to, HUB DE LA TSIBUirS BRDSSSLS, BELOnTU
Ifames and Addresses cS fbe Members of the Pemutnent Committee
(August 25, 1912)
AnsTRIA
Db. Max ton Tatenthal, Firat Secretaiy of the Chamber of Gammerce and Iiulustrjr of
Viennft, Government Counsellor, Imperial and Royal Commercial Counsellor, Vienna
His ExcXLLXNCT Count Ecnri Clam-Mabtinic, Personal Counsellor of His Ma|«sty, mem-
ber of tiie Chamber of Commerce of Prague
Dr. Fktt% Cabus, Pint Secretuy of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Keiohenbeig;
GoTemment Counsellor
AUemaUt:
Dr. Fbudbich Masxb, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Innsbruck
Abthub Kvmxji, Vioe-Preaident of the Central Association of Auatrian Manufacturers,
Vienna
Db. Haito CsnnACXEK, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Eger
BBLGIUH
Louis Camon-Lbgband, Construction Engineer, President of the Federation of Commercial
and Industrial Aaeociations of Belgium, President of the Provincial Council of Hainaut,
Mods
Lovis Strauss, Economist, President of the Superior Council of Industry and Commerce,
Honorary Consul of Belgium, 127, rue Lamoriniire, Antirerp
Enofan Allabd, President of the Belgian Chamber of Commerce of Paris, 42, rue Le
Peletier, Paris
AUemaUi:
E. VAN Elkwtck, Preradent of the Chamber of Commerce of Brussels
Paul Gubtin, Becretary of the Chamber <A Commerce of Antwerp
Joseph Soubkx, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Verriets, 64, rue du Palais,
Verviera
BiaOAKU
M. ZiiATABorF, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Sofia,
AUemaU:
M. KABAROTAMorr, Vioe-Preaident of the Chamber of Commerce of Sofia
91
Digitized byGoOgIC
92 INTEBNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
FRARCE
Charles Leqr&nd, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Paris, 42, rue de Cleij,
Paris II«
Chasijb Bobbkboeuf, Preaideiit of Uie Oliamber of Commerce of Toun
Denis Bodden, Comisellor for Foreign Commerce, Second Vice-Presidait of the Fk«ich
Chamber of Commerce of Brueoels, 82, Boulevard du Hainaut, Brussels
AUemalet:
A. HiRVET, PreeideDt of the Chamber of Commerce of Boui^es
M. Bbnoft, President of the French Chamber of Commerce of London
U. DuBZH, Member of the Chamber of Commnoe of Lille
OEBHAHT
J. Ahsbbab, Gehumer Kommenienrat, President of the Chamb^ of Commeree, 69, New
MainserstraHe, FrankfortK)n-the-Maiii
Dr, Joh. Kaeiut, President of the Gennan Reichstag, Fieeident of "Der Deutsche Haadels-
tag," President of "Die Xltesten der Kaufmannschaft vtoi Beilin," 8, Hohensollers-
straOe, Beriin, W. 10
Orro MtlNSTERBiua, Kommeniennit, Member of the "Vorsteheiamt der Kaufmanpaobaft,"
AlUmakx:
Dr. LouiB RavenA, Geheimer Kommemenrat, Vioe-Presid^t of the Chamber of Commerce
10, MargaretenstraBe, Beriin, W. 10
HxttMAMM RoBiNow, Chamber of Commerce, Hamburg
Dr. Soktbeer, General Secretary of "Der Deutsche Handelatag," 53-54 Neue Friedrieb-
straCe, Beriin, C. 2
GREAT BRITAIN AHD mELAHD
Chaslxs Charixton, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce of London, 4, East CkvKp,
London, E. C.
Frank Dxbenhau, Former Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce of Lcmdon, FiUjohns
Avenue, London, N. W.
LiwiB R. S. TouALiH, Fonner Vice-I^esident of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce of
London, S5, Milton Street, London, E. C.
Atiernatet:
Arthur Skrbna, Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce of London, 34, Leadenhall Street,
London, E. C.
W. J. Thompson, Member of the Cotmcil of the Chamber of Commerce of London, 38, Mino-
ing Lane, London, E. C.
Kbnric B. Mubbat, Fonner Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of London, Oxford
Court, London, E. C.
HUnOART
LADISI.AB FOrbt nE Maboth, Vice-President of the "Magyar Eeieskedelmi Csamok," Sas
Utcza, 20-22, Budapest V
Da. EuQEN ScHBETER, Secretary of the "Magyar Keieakedelmi Ceamok," Per«iel Mor
Utcta, Budapest V
EuoEN Lokacb, Member of the Union of Hungarian Merchants, £6tvds Utcia, 38, Buda-
pest IV
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
ITALY
Ino. Gb. Uff. Anqelo SAuioiRAaHi, President of the Umon of Chambeis of Commerce of
Italy, President of the Ch&mber of Commerce of Milan
Couu. Fiuppo BiNELu, Preaident of the Chamber of Commerce, Carrara
Alltmaitt:
Coui. Giovanni La Fabina, President of the Chancer of Commerce of Palermo, Vice-
President of the Union of Chtunbere of Commerce of Ittdy, Palermo
Coui. AW. FxBDiNANDO BoccA, pTwideat of Uie Chamber of Commerce of Turin
LUZEHBOURG
Joseph WTrnTH-WniusB, Director of the International Bank, Member of the Chamber cd
Commerce of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Luxembouig
GusTATX DE Mabu, Merchant, Member of the Chamber of Commerce, EttelbrQok
J.-F. Seteniq, Profeesor of Commerce, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg
BXTHSRLARBS
G. N. DE SroPFxiiAAB, President of the Netheriands Chamber of Commerce of Brussels, 48,
chauaste de Chaiieroi, Brusaels
Db. W. RooaEaAASDB-BisscHOP, Banister at Law, Honorary Secretary of the Nethedands
Chamber of Commerce of London, Paper BuSding, 3 Temple, London, E. C.
G.-S. DE CusRCQ, General Secretary of the "Maatschappij van Nijverheid" of the Nether-
lands, Haailem
NOKWAT
Au. Bjebcke, Merchant, President of the Union of Commercial Associations of Norw^,
Christiuiia
Knud Brtn, Director Tidemansgate, 4, Christiania
Rbidar Tyut, General Seoretary of the Union of Commercial Associations of Norway, Borsen,
Christiania
AUemaUi:
AmtLT Oeicn, Merchant, Trondhjem
O. EfiiCBBEN, Manufacturer, Deputy, Trondhjem
RUSSU
EuAHUXL Nobel, Vioe-FTeeident of the Association of Industry and Commerce of Russia,
46, lit^^ny. Saint Petersburg
AlUrtuiU:
M. Ktmm Asamsxi, Member of the Association of Industry and Commmve of Russia
^AIN
Babtholoh^ Akenguaii, Secretary of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navi-
gation, Barcelona
Edi7abi>o Esteut t Toeebs, Delegato of the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid
Fbhdebico RAHOL.A, Member of the "Fomento del trabajo naoional," 642, Calle de Ccotee,
Barcelona
AltmiaU:
Enbique Mabti GabcIa, General Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Db. Fbbdbik Gbonw&ll, Bank Director, Stockholm C
Db. Jacob Ekham, Secrataiy of the Chamber of Commerce, MahnO
swrrzERL&mD
Db. Ed. Suueb-Ziegixb, National Counsellor, Winterthur
A. CcGEUiAHM, Nfttional Counsellor, Langental
Db. a. Gboro, Former National Counsellor, Geneva
Db. Alfbxd Fbxt, Nadonal Counsellor, Zurich
H. Jbzlzb-Lobenz, Bale
JxnxB Vautub, Grandson
UmXED STATES OF AMERICA
Fbank D. La Lannh, Freeident of the National Board of Trade, 214 Gheetnut Street, Phila-
delphia, Pa.
Edwabd a. Fiuenii, Chamber of Commerce, Boeton, Moss.
T. EnwABU WiLDEB, Chicago Association of Commerce, Chicago, III.
AUtmatet:
WiujAu McCabboll, Public Service Commissioner, New York
XJ. J. Ledouz, Chamber of Commerce Boston, Mass.
CoL. J. J. StnuVAD, Chamber of Commerce, Cleveland, Ohio
Oeneial Secretur
fiuLB JoTTBAKD, Mons, Bdgium
ISTames and Addresses of Members of the Pennauent Committee
Chosen at the Fifth Congress
BELGIUH
Louis Canoh-Lxobakd, Construction Engineer, Former President of the Federation of Com-
mercial and Industrial Associations of Belgium, President of the Provincial Council of
Hainaut, Mons
Loms Btraubb, Economist, President of the Superior Council of Industry and Commerce,
Honorary Consul of Belgium, 127, rue Lamotiniere, Antwerp
EuokNB Allabd, President of tiie Belgian Chamber of Conuneroe of Paris, 42, rue Le Pde-
tier, Paris
AUematea:
Joseph Sotbbb, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Verviers, 64, rue du Palais, Ver-
viers
Alfbbd Vandbb Steobn, Manufaoturer, Presdent of the Belgian Federation of Builders,
and of the Commercial and Industrial Club of Ghent
J. B. PuTTABBT, Del^t&te of the Chamber of Commeroe of Brussels, Merchant, 66, rue du
Harche aux Charbons, Brussels
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Db. Candido bb Mendbb di Almeida, Director of the Commercial Museum, Delegate of
the Fedn^tioD of Commercifd AasociatiouB of Braiil, Rio de Janeiro
Dr. Alfonso Bandziba vs Mxllo, Secretary of the Belgian-Brasilian Chamber of Com-
merce, Antwerp
Db. Dzlfhin Carlos, Director of the Bureau of Information of Braiil, Legation of Brazil,
Pane
FRANCE
Datii>-Menvxt, Freeident of the Chamber of Commerce of Paris, 2, place de la Bouise,
Paris
Chables Bobsxbobttt, PreBident of the Chamber of Commerce of Tours
Demis BaDDBN, Counsellor !ixt Foreign Commerce, Second Vice-Preeident of the French
Chamber of Commnce of Brussels, 82, boulevard du Hainaut, Bruasds
OBRHANT
J. Amdbzax, Geh^mer Eommonenrat, President of the Chamber of Commerce, 69, Neue
MaiueistraQe, Frankfort-on-the-Main
Db. Joh. Kabupt, President of the German Reichstag, President of "Der Deutsche Han-
delstag," President of "Die Xlteeten der Kaufmannscfaaft von Berlin," 8, Hoh^uollem-
stiaBe, Beriin, W. 10
Otto MuNsrsitBiiKa, Eommenienrat, Member of the "Votsteheramt der Kaufmannscfaaft,"
H. Enii. BoHLSM, Chamber of Commerce, Hambutg
Db. Louis Ravenb, Geheimer Kommeniettrat, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce,
10, MargaretenstraSe, Beiiin, W. 10
Db. Soxtbeeb, General Secretary of "Der Deulscher Handelstag," S3-54 Nme Fr^dricb-
stiaBe, Beriin, C. 2
obeat bbitain and iselahd
Chabiab Chablbtom, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce of London, 4, East
Cheap, London, E. C.
F. Faitbtdll Bbqo, President of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce of London,
Bartholomew House, London, E. C.
A. Baston Ebht, Member of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce of London, 7S, Fai^
rington Rd., London, E. C. '
Alterrtatet:
W. J. Thompson, Member of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce of London, 38, Minc-
ing Lane, London, E. C.
EbMbic B. Mdrkat, Former Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of London, Cromer
Hyde, Central Road, Morden, Surrey
Graham Spicbb, Member of the Chamber of Commerce of London, 19, New Bridge Street,
London, E. C.
Digitized byGoOgIC
96 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
HTTITGART
Jules Seavay, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Debrecsen
LoDis Vabjasbt, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ar«d
Db. Paul SzKtmE, Secretary of the National Association of Hungarian Merdiants, Bud&peet
AUemaUt:
Maurice Sexndboi, Secretary of the Chamber of Commeroe and Industry of Gyor
Db. Louib Sabkadi, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nagyvarad
Db. AiiASAB SiFOBB, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kassa
Ino. Gb. Vww. Angslo SAUiontAOHi, President of the Union of Cbamben of Ccmunwce ut
Italy, President of the Chamber of Commeroe of Milan
CouM. ATT. Pbboinando Bocca, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Turin
NETHERLANDS
Db. W. RoosEQAABna-BiBacHOP, Barrister at Law, Honorary Secretary of the Netheriands
Chamber of Cconmerce of London, Paper Building, 3, Temple, LondoD, E. C.
G. S. DE Clkboq, General Secretary of the "Maatechappij Tan NiJTetbeid" of the NeUia-
lands, Haarlem
Aliernale:
M. E. Yonebb, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Amsterdam
HORWAT
Au. Bjikczb, Merchant, Piesident of the Union of Commercial Assodations of Norway,
Ghiistiania
Knus Bbtn, Director, Tidemansgate, i, Christiania
Rbidah Dun, General Secretary of the Union of Commercial Associations of Norway, Borseo,
Christiania
AUerrtaiet:
JoROBH Bluit, CominisSLoner of the Bourse, Bergen
O. Ebichben, Manufacturer and Deputy, Trondbjem
SPAIN
Baxtbolohii AmiNauAi., Secretary of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and
NayigatioQ, Barcelona
Cablos Pbabt, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid
Alternate:
Ehbique Mabti Gabcia, General Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid
Db. Fbbsbik Gbonwaix, Bank Director, Stockholm.
Db. Jacob Ekman, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, MalmO
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
SWITZERLAnZ)
Dr. a. Gdobg, Vioe-Preadeiit of the Chamber of Commeroe of Geneva
Abmold Gugelmann, National Counsellor, LaDgeotal
AUemata:
Db. Auxrd Fbxt, National Counsellor, Zurich
H. JEZ1.EB-L0BSNE, Bale
JoiAS Vadtieb, Grandson
UniTED STATES OP AMERICA
Edwabd A. FiuiNX, Chamber of Commerce, 453 Washington Street, Boston, Maaa.
Besmabd J. Sbomihgbb, Premdent of the Am^ican Chamber of Conunerce of Paris, 3, rue
Scribe, Paiia
Habbt a. WBaBLEB, President of the Chamber of Conunerce of the United States of America,
6235 Lenngton Avenue, Chicago, HI.
AUemaUt:
JoEM H. Fahxt, Boston Chamber of Commerce, 12 littell Road, Brookline, Maaa.
Gkobob 8. Atwood, Secretary of the American Association of Commerce and Trade, Equi-
table Building, Friedrichstrafie, 59-60, Berlin
Gbobok W. Shbldon, Association of Commerce, Chicago
Oeneral Secretaiy
£milz JoTTRAHii, Mons,
Digitized byGoOgIC
„Google
0flitsxi anb iSmerican Cammitttti
Presideat
Louis CANON-LxaBAND
Preaidenl of the Parmatunt CommitUt of Iht Intemalumdl Congreu. Ftt»idmt of the Federa-
tion <4 Ok Commercial and Induttrial Auodaiione of Bdgiwn. PreeideiU of
the Chamber of Commerce of If o)u
Vlce-Prsaident
EIdwabd a. Filbnx
V<o»-Prutdsn( of ih& Permanent CommiOee of the InUmaHonal Congreei.
Member of Ibe Botton Chamber of Commerce
Goaontl Sacretuy
£uiUI JOTTBAKD
Secretary t^ Ibe Chamber ttf Commerce of Mont. Secretary of the Federation of the Commercial
and Indtietriai Aeeodatione of Belgium. Director of the Commerdal Inatitute of the
Manvfadwert of Hainaul
jBortoti Cx ttwHt i t Cttiunttttt
Gbobob S. SifiTH, Chftinnaa
Preeident Botton Chamber i4 Commerce, 1911
WnjJAif H. Bain
Diredor Bodon Chamber t^ Commerce
f^.tnn J, Buss
Chairman General Organiting CommiHee
WnjJAif E. Butler
Second Viee-Preeident Boilon Chamber of Commerce
J. R&NDOLPB COOUDOE, Jb.
First Vice-Pretidenl Botton Chamber of Commerce
John H. Fahkt
Chairman CommiHee on Tour
Edwabd a. FnjCNa
Yiee-Pretident International Con^p-eea iff Chamhere erf Commerce
Jaukb a. McEibbsn
Secretary Soeton Chamber of Commerce
BXBMAXD J. BOTBWILL
Chairman Committee on Entertainment. Preeident Botton Chamber qf Commerce, 1910
JOBBPH B. RCSBKLIi
Preeident Botton Chamber of Commeree, 1912
Jakes J. Btobbow
Chairmon Botton Honorary Committee. Pretidenl Boaton Chamber t^ Commeree, 1909
F. W. Tadbsio
Chairman Committee on Program
Jahxs T. Wbthbraui
Chairman Committee on PtMidty
ROBEBT WiNBOB'
Chairman Committee on Finance
RoBBBT J. BoiTOMLY, Secretary
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
ISmtvitm f^omtatp Committee
ProBldaiit
Hon. Willuh H. Tait, Preeident of the United States of America
Vice-Pnaldants
Hon. FHII.AKDES C. Knox, Secretary of State for the United States of America
Hon. Charlks Nagel, Secretary of Commerce and Labor for the United States of America
Hon. Shelbt M. Cuixou, Chairman Committee 4m Foreign Relations of the Senate of the
United Statafl of America
Hon. WHiLUh Suiaeb, Chairman Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Represen-
tatives of the United Stetee of America
Hon. Crebtxr H. Aldkich, Governor of Nebraska
Hon. Nblbon W. Auibich, Chairman National Monetary Commission
Hib Ezckllehct Viscount nn Aurs, E. E. ft M. P. of Portugal
John D. Aschbou>, Standard Oil G<«npany
His Exceli^mct SsftoB don Ricasdo Abus, E. E. & M. P. of Panama
J. OoDEN AsMOCB, Aimour & Company
F. R. Babcocx, President Pittabui^ Chamber of Commerce
Qbobgb F. Baker, Preeident First National Bank, New York City
Hia ExCBUiENCT Geobqb Bakhmetefp, Ambassador of Rusna
Hon. SomoN E. Baldwin, Governor of Coimecticut
WnuAif M. Bau>win, President New York Tanning Extract Company
Williau B&bbouk, President linen Thread Company
Hon. John Babrbtt, Director-General Pan'American Union
Williau M. Bakreit, Presidmt Adams Express Company
Hon. Robert P. Bass, Governor of New Hampshire
Edward T. Bedford, Com Products Company
AoooBT Bkuiont, August Belmont A Company
H. H. Benbdict, President Remington Typewriter Co.
His Excellbnct ShUob I>b. Don RAit6N Bemooechba, Charge d'AfTairee, Guatemala
Hib Excellenct Count J. H. von Bernstortf, Ambassadcn- of Germany
Wai/ixr p. Bishop, Preeident Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce
W. K. Bixbt, Ci^italist St. Louis, Missouri
Hon. Colh L. Blbase, Governor of South CarolinA
Hon. Earl Brbweb, Governor of Mississippi
Hon. Julius L. Brown, Governor of Georgia
WiLUUi C. Brown, Preddent New York Central Lines
His Excbllehct the Riqht Hon. Jambs Brtcb, O. M., Ambassador of Great Britain
His Excbllhnct H. H. Brth, E. E. ft M. P. of Norway
Alonzo N. Burbanx, Preeidait International Pi^Mr Co.
Hon. John Burke, Goremoc of North Dakota
Cubtis R. Burnett, Preeident Newark Board of Trade
Nicholas Murrat Bctler, President American Society for International Conciliatioii
Hib Excellbnct L. L. Caftanzoolu, LL.D., Charg6 d' Affaires, Greece
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMM^ItC^.; : V '.: -■''.:-: :JIXil
HiB ExcBLLEMCT ScftoB DoM loNACiO CaldebAm, E. E. & M. p. of Bolivia
TItb Excxllbnct SbSob Don Mamoil Calsbo, Ambamador of Mexico
Hm EzcaUiENCT SsflOB Don JoaqdIn Bxrnabdo Cai.vo, E. E. & M. P. of Coeta Rica
Hon. Joseph M. Cuan, Governor of Wyoming
E. R. CABHAin', President New Yoric Produce Eschangs
Andbew Cabuzgoi, Capitalist
T. M. Cabbinoton, President Richmond Chamber of Commerce
Hon. Bebtii F. Cabboll, Governor of Iowa
Hu EzcELLKNCY SALVADOR Gastbillo, Jb., E. E. ft M. P. of Nicaragua
John Clatlin, President Quunber of Commerce of the State of New York
Hon. Walter E. Clark, Governor of Alaska
Chables a. CoFnN, Premdent General Electric Co.
Hon. 0. B. CongTrrrr, Governor of Texas
Sakubi. B. Gout, President United States Rubber Co.
Hon. Gbobor R. Colton, Governor of Porto Rioo
His Excellency the Mabqirb Ccbani Contalonieri, Ambaasador of Italy
Gborqe B. Cobteltotj, President New Yoric Consolidated Gas Co.
His GzcEUiENCT Db. Faubto Davila, £. E. ft M. P. of Honduiaa
WiLLEAU A. Dat, President Equitable Life Assurance Society
Hon. Charus S. Dbneen, Governor <A lUiaois
Hon. John A. Dix, Governor of New York
Hon. GsoBaB W. Donaohet, Qovemor of Ariunsas
Wauteb a. Drapes, President Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce
HonBToH DosLEr, President Nashville Board of Trade
Hon. Adolph O. Ebbrhabt, Governor of MinneBota
Thomas A. Edison, Inventor
His Excellenct W. A. F. EKENaRXN, E. E. ft M. P. <rf Sweden
HOWABD Eluott, President Northern Pacific B. R. Co.
Jakes C. Faboo, President American Express Co.
Hon. EnoENB N. Foes, Governor of Mossaehunette
Hon. Geobob Eulas Fobteb, Minister of Trade and Commeroe, Domkiian of Canada
Hon. W. F. Fbeab, Governor of Hawaii
His Exceluhct Semhob Doiaao da Gama, Ambassador of Braril
Glbebt H. Gabt, Ghainnan United States Steel Co.
His Excellenct SeRor Don Juan Rulto t Gatakoob, E. E. ft M. P. of Spain
W. E. Gibson, President Oakland Chamber of Commerce
Hon. Albebt W. Gilchbibt, Governor of Florida
Hon. William E. Gi.abscocx, Governor of West Virginia
Hon. Phillips L. GoLneBORODQB, Governor of Maryland
Hon. Lee Gruce, Governor of Oklahoma
Hon. Hebbebt S. Hadlet, Governor of Missouri
HoM. John Hats Hammond, Mining Engineer
Hon. Jddson Harmon, Governor of Ohio
His Excellenct E. Havekits, E. E. ft M. P. of Belgium
Hon. Jambs H. Hawlet, Governor of Idaho
Hon. Marion £. Hat, Governor of Washington
His Excellbnct Bason HENaEuit}LLEB von HenoervIb, Ambassador of Austria-Hungary
A. Babtoh Hepbitbn, President Chase National Bank, New York City
C. W. HoBSON, President Dallas Chamber of C(anmerce
Hon. Ben W. Hooper, Governor of Tennessee
Mabvin HuaHiTT, Preddent Chicago ft Northwestern R. R. Co.
A. B. Johnson, I^nsident Baldwin Locomotive Works
Bon. Hiram W. Johnson, Governor of Calif vmia
Digitized byGoOgIC
10iJ.:i--'l;-;'-.' fUXI^BNATlONAL CONGRESS OP
HoHBB H. JoENsoM, Preeideiit Cleveland Chamber of Commene
HiB ExcELLXNCT J. J. JiiBSKRAKD, AmbasBador of Fieaee
MiNOB C. Keith, Tice-Freadent Cuited E^t Co.
HiB ExcEUANCT MntZA Au Ecu Khan, Charge d' Affaires of Penift
EuoEMB V. EniBABK, Preddent Chicago Aasooiation of Commerce
D. P. KiNQBLET, Preeident New York Life Inaur&noe Co.
Hon. WiLUAii W. Kttchtn, QoTcmor of North Carolina
His Ezceushct Jonkhebb J. Loui>on, E. K A; M. P. of The Nethedftitds
RoBEBT S. LoTETT, President Union Pacific R. R. Co.
J. D. LowiCAH, President Seattle Chamber of Commerce
His Excsllbnct SeRob Don Rooebto Macdouall, First Secretai; of Legation and Chais6
d' Affaires of Colombia
Clabbncb H. Mackat, Preeident Postal Telegraph Co., New Yoric CSt;
SiB WiuiAjf Macuinzh, Capitalist, Toronto, Canada
Hon. Wiujau H. Mann, Governor of Virginia
Hon. Thohas R. Mabshall, Governor of Indiana
Waijw H. Marsha 1,1., President American Locomotive Co.
Ctbdb H. McCobkick, President International Huvester Company
Jaues McCbxa, President Pennaylvania R. R. Co.
Hon. Jakes Bennett McCbxabz, Governor of Kentucky
Hon. WnxiAU C. McDoNALn, GovenuM- of New Mexico
Hon. John Asneb Mead, Governor of Vermont
HiB Excellency SeRob Don Fedebico MejIa, E. E. & M. P. of Salvador
Charles S. Mellen, Preaident New Yorit, New Haven A Hartford R, R. Co.
His Excellekct Solon Menob, E. E. A M. P. of Haiti
WiUfEB L. MooBE, President Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
VicroB MoBAWETZ, Lawyer and writer on International Law
J. PiEBPONT MoBOAN, J. P. Morgan it Co.
J. PiEBPONT MoBOAN, Au, J. P. Moigan it Co.
His Excxllenct RAvulo S. NaAh, E. E. & M. P. of Argentina
Thouas Neal, Premdent General Motors Co.
Hon. Edwin L. Nobbis, Governor of Montana
Hon. Tabkxb L. Oddie, Governor of Nevada
Hon. Emmet O'Neal, Governor of Alabama
Hon. Chase S. Obsobn, Governor of Michigan
H. Z. OsBOBNE, President Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
Jameb F. Otsteb, President Washington Chamber of Commerce
Wiu-iAU Babclat Pabsons, Barclay Parsons ft Clapp
John H. Patterson, Preeident National Cash Register Co.
Chabias A. Peabodt, Preeident Mutual Life Insurance Co.
His Kxcellenct Db. Cablos MAsfA nE Pbna, E. E. ft M. P. of Uruga&y
Hon. Simeon S. Penmbwill, Governor of Delaware
OBOBan W. Pebeins, Capitalist, New York, N. Y.
His Excellenct SeAob Db. Don Fbancisco J. Pstnaao, E. E. A M. P. <rf tite E
Republic
Hia Excbllenct SxRob Don F. A. Pezet, E. E. ft M. P. of Peru
J. W. PoBCH, President New Orleans Progreesive Union
Hon. Abau J. Pothieb, Governor of Rhode Island
His Exceuxkct Db. Patjl RnTBR, E. E. ft M. P. of Switteriand
M. H. Bobbins, Jb., President San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
John D. Rockxpeluib, Capitalist
HiB Ezcbujncy SbRob Don P. Ezequiel Rojas, E. E. ft M. P. of Venetuela
Hon. Jabed Y. Sandxbs, Governor of Louisiana
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Jacob H. Scbut, Eulm, Loeb Co.
Chajblbs M. Schwab, President Bethlehem Bteel Co.
Hon, Johh F. Shafeoth, Governor of Colorado
Sib Tbohab G. Shaitobnbbbt, Premdeat Canadian Pacific Railway Company
jAMxa SPKnR, Speyer A Co.
Hon. Wiluam Sfbt, Governor of Utah
E. J. Stackfole, HarriBburg Board of Trade
Allison Stockeb, Preaident Denver Chamber of Commerce
MEI.VILI.B E. Stoms, Pietddent Associated Preee
Hon. Wal/tkh R. Btubbs, Govemor of Kansas
Hie EXCI1LI.ENCT SbNor Don Edcakdo Suasez, M., E. E. A M. P. of Chile
Louis F. Swift, Swift A; Co.
Thomas C. Tubirlaks, Prendest Louisville Commercial Club
Hbmbt R. Towmb, PresideDt New York Merchants' Association
Fbank a. Vansxblip, President National City Bank, New Yoric City
Hon. Robsbt S. Vebset, Governor ti South Dakota
Humr Waiavbs, Chaiiman Atlantic Coast line
Pam. M. Wasboxo, Euhn, Loeb Co.
Hon. Houxr Wakrzn, President Detroit Board of Commerce
RoLLA Wells, Prenident St. Louis Business Men's League
Hon. Oswald Wmt, Govemor of Oregon
Gboboh WEmNOHonsii, Inventor and Manufacturer
Hon. Woodbow Whson, Govemor of New Jeisey
Obson E. Yeaobb, President Buffalo Chau^r of Commerce
BOSTON COMMITTEES
BOSTOH HONOSART COmOTTBB
Jaues J. BroBBOw, Chairman; Lee, Higgioson A Co.
GoBDON Abbott, Old Colony Trust Co.
Edwin F. Atkimb, E. Atkins A Co.
Hon. Robbbt Bacon, Overseer Harvaid University
HooH Bancboit, Chairman Directors of the Port of Boston
Hon. John L. Bates, Former Govemor of Massachusetts
Adiobal Fbancib T. Bowi-bs, Fore River Ship Building Co.
Robbbt S. BBAnurr, American Agricultural Chemical Co.
TuoTHr E. Btbnbb, Vice-Preodest New York, New Haven A Hartfoid R. R. Co.
Bahubl B. Cafsn, Trustee
Chableb p. Chase, Preeident SpiingGeld Board of Trade
John C. Cobb, Tnist«e
Hon. T. Jbvtxbson Coolidoe, Capitalist
Hon. W. Mdbbat Cbanb, United States Senator
Hon. Edwin U. Cubtis, Collector of the Port of Boston
8ia. Q. Di Rose, Royal Consul of Italy
Hon. Wiluah L. Douglas, W. L. Douglas Shoe Co.
JoBGB DA SiLVBBiA Dttabtb d'Almbida, CoBBul of Portugal
Chableb L. Edoab, President The Edison Electric Illuminatmg Co.
Samuel J. Eu>eb, Elder, Whitman, and Bamum
Abthos F. E&tabboob, Estabrodc A Co.
Edwabd a. FnxNE, Wm. Filene's Sons Co.
Digitized byGoOgIC
104 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Frederick P. Fibh, Fi^, Richardson, Henick & Neftve
Hon. John F. FmoERAiD, Mayor of Boston
Easii H. FrrzHVQE, Vice-President Grand Trunk R7. Co.
Thouab B. FnxPATRiCK, Brown Durrell Co.
Charus F. Fi.Aaa, Piesideiit Portland Board of Trade
J, C. JoBSPH FliAiuND, Consul of France
Hon. EuOEirD N. Foes, Governor of Massaehumtte
Hon. WtujAii A. Gadton, President National Bhftwmut Bank
Edwin Oinm, Ginn & Co.
John C. Gkat, Ropes, Gray 4 Gorbam
Edwin F. Greens, Pacific Mills
E. A. Gbozibb, Post Publishing Co.
Hon. Cubtib Guild, Ambassador to Russia
Hon. Chabuib S. Hamun, Lawyer
Henrt L. Bioqinson, Lee, Higginsoti ft Co.
Chabues C. Hott, Famsworth, Hoyt ft Co,
JsBOMB JoNKa, Jones, McDuffee ft Stratton Co.
Gbbn D. Jordan, Jordan Marsh Co.
Geobos E. Kxith, George E. Keith Co.
Roland O. Lamb, President John Hancock Life Insurance Co.
Gardinxb M. Lane, Lee, Higginson ft Co.
Fhzdbbick p. Lxat, British Consul
I^STER Lxland, United States Rubber Co.
Hon. Henrt Cabot Lodge, United States Senator
Hon. Jauss Logan, United States Envelope Co.
Hon. John D. Long, Former Secretary of Navy. Former Goyemor of Massachusetts
AoansTCB P. Lobino, Lorii^, Coolidge & Noble
A. Lawbence Lowell, President Harvard Univereitj'
Hon. Robert Luce, Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts
RiCBABD C. Maclaitrin, President Massachusetts Institute of Teohnolc^y
Samuel P. Mandell, C. F. Hovey ft Co.
J. Fbanklin McElwain, W. H. McElwfun Co.
Hon. Georob von L. Meter, Secretary of the Navy
Laurence Minot, Trustee
Jahbb J. Phslan, Homblower ft Weeks
Wallace L. Piebce, S. S. Pierce Co.
Andrew W. Frebton, President United Fruit Co.
WiLUAM Theodore Reincee, Imperial German Consul
Jaues L. Richards, President Boston Consolidated Gas
Bernard J. Rothwell, Bay State Milling Co.
Joseph B. Russell, President Boston Chamber of Cocnmeroe
A. Shuhan, a. Shuman ft Co.
Ellbwobth Sisson, Psesident Providence Board of Trade
Chables a. Stone, Stone ft Webster
Lncnjs Tdttle, Former President Boston ft Maine R. R.
I. M. Uluian, Presidrait New Haven Chamber of Commerce
Theodore N. Vail, President American Telephone ft Telegrs^th Co.
Cranmorb N, Wall&ce, Ludlow Manufacturing Associates
Frank G, Wbbsteb, Kidder, Peabody ft Co.
Hon. John W. Weeks, Homblower ft Weeks
WiLUAU Whithan, William Whitman ft Co.
Moses Williaus, Trustee
Daniel G. Wing, Presidoit First National Bank
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
RoBEKT WiNBOR, Kidder, Peabody A Co.
WiLUAii M. Wood, President American Woolen Co.
E. M. WooDWABD, President Worcester Board of Trade
SroNET W. Winslow, United Shoe Machinery Co.
OIHnuL OSOAHIZnvQ COHHITTBB
P!i.inm J. BusB, Chairman
Chableb Fbancib Adaub, 2d
Chablkb H. Adams
M. W. Aibxandbb Fhedsrick O.
J. J. AraKKLTAN WlliLIAH MufOT
William H. Bain Herbert W. Mobes
Georoe S. Baldwik Huoh Nawn
Wai/ter S. Bucklih J. Henrt Neal
AuGUBTue S. Cobb Patrick A. O'Connbll
Lewib A. CBoeszTT Edgbnb W. Ono
Howard H. Datxnfobt Herbert F. Parbonb
John H. Detikb Chaxleb A. Pabtenb
Altin E. Dodd Qeoroe W. Pratt
Leon Rdbbell Etges L. P. Pbbbcott
Fbederice F. Fibh B. Atwood Robinbon
Randolph Frothinqham Jogbpb B. Rubsell, Jr.
E. Howaed Georoe Henrt B. Sawyer
A. Leslie Harwood, Jr. Hok. Richard S. Teeuno
Will T. Hedoeb Everit B. Terhune
JoBHUA B. Holdeh George N. Towle
Fbxdhbick 0. HonoHTOM Willlah H. Vincent
EoaBNE C. HoLTUAM Lton Wetbdrn
Benjamin Jot B. C. WHiTiNa
W. P. LisBT Russell R. Whttman
Louis K. Liogktt E. A. Wilkib
Btm-couMtmB ON ocean transportation
O. HonoaTON EtroENE C. Hci;mAH
CDHXITTBB OH PROORAH
F. W. Tadbbio, Chairman
Robert Bacok Henrt Howard
Cabboll W. Doten Edwin D. Mbad
Edward A. Filene Fredric J. Stwson
Robert S. Gorham
cohhittxs or eutektaismsht
Bernard J. Rothwell, Chairmao
Frank S. Baker Arthur B. Cbapih
Hugh Bancroft Louib A. Cooudob
Edmund Billinob GEORoa T. Coppinb
Frank A. Bourne A. Dddlet Dowd
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Walteb G. Fish Willuh B. Fotteb
Thouas B. Fitepatbice Charles W. Robib
Randolph Fboi^inohaii Hbnbt E. Russeu.
Joshua B. Holden A. Shuman
Wbbtlet Jonxb M. N. Smith
Henbt L. KtNCAiDE Chables H. Taylos
John S. Lawbbnce David F. Tillet
WhiLiam E. Litchfield Richabd E. Traiseb
Geosoe B. Mobison Eliot Wadswobth
Jaiibb M. Morbibon Habbt R. Welluan
Francib p. O'Connob John T. Wheblbiobt
Fbancis Pbabodt, Jb. Addison L. Winshif
H. Staples Poitbb Edqab N. Wbiqhtinotoh
SDB-C0MMrTTEE8
Badgts and Dteoraiion*
Mabcbll N. Suith, Chairmap
F. a. Bobbne F. p. O'Connob
Eduithd BiLLmoB, Chunnao
Geoboe T. Coppinb
Hbnbt E. RnessLL
Club CowUtiea
Chables H. Tatlob, Chairman
Geoboe B. Mobibon John T. Wbeelvbigbt
A. L. WiNSHIP
Cimoart and Miuie
Evening SecepHon
A. Shdman, ChairmoD
Abthub B. Cbapih Westlet Joneb
Thomas B. Fttzpatbice William E. Litchfield
Eliot Wadbwobth
Oreeting and Cab Seniee
Westlet Jones, ChairmaD
James M. Mobsison H. Staples Potfeb
Hotel Acoommodationa and HaUt
Henbt E. Rubbell, Chainnan
WiLUAM E. Litchfield Chables W. Robie
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
InvUaUone
Bernabd J. RoTHWEUL, ChatmiaD
EuoH Bamchoft Joseph B. Rossell
Eduiind Billinos a. Shuuah
JtiOB A, McKiBBEN Qeobqe S. Suitb
KiCHASD E. Tkaibeb
Frahcib Peabodt, Jb., ChaLnnan
OEOaOB T. COPPIHB
A. Din>LBT Down
Loan of AutonuAiies
Loins A. CoouDaE, Chairman
Hugh Bakcboit A. Dudlet Dows
Hasbt R. Weulmak, Secretary
tjocal Bxeuriions
Wambe C. Fish, Ctuurmaii
HCQH BaNCBOFT HeNXT L. KiMCAlDE
Habbt R. Weixuan, Secretary
Pnoatt Hmumg of Qwitt
EooAB N. Wbiobtington, Cbainnan
Henbt E. Rubbell
COMHITTBB OH nHAHCB
RoBEBT WiNSOB, Chairman
Pbxdekicx C. Duhaine Philip Stockton
William A. Gaston Galen L. Stone
FsANX W. Stearns Euoene V. R. Thatbe
COHUITTBB OH PUBLICITY
Jaices T. Wbthbbau), Chairman
^^KANDKB DODDS WlLLIAK F. RoOBBS
iWBab J. Febmbt Cabboll J. Swak
Geoboe B. Qalldp William U. Swan
L. D. Gibbs Fbank W. Tdlly
Robert L. O'Brien Richard J. Wauh
J. P. YODER
COMHnTBB OH TOOR
John H. Faeet, Chairman
Robert W. Atkins Howabd H. Davenport
William P. F. Aver E, Elher Foye
Matthew C. BarsH Louis F. R. Lanoelieb
Richabd B. Caxtbb Otto J. Piehler
Digitized byGoOgIC
18 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
LIDIBS' COmaTTBB
Mkb. WiLLiAif H. Tait Mas. A. Lawbenci Lowell
Mrs. EuaEHS N. Fobs Mbb, Jaues M. Mobbison
Mbs. John F. FrraoEKALD Mbs. J. Henb< Neai.
Mrs. Gobdon Abbott Mibb Mabt Botlb 0'Kziij.t
Miss Sarah Loiiihe Arnold Mibs Ellxn F. Pendleton '
Mrs. Elmer J. Bliss Mbs. Dmixr L. Pickuak
Mbs. Wtu.iAU E. Butler Mbs. Jaues L. Richards
Miss Mabt Cobs Mrs. Bernard J. Rothwell
Mrs. J. Randolph Cooudoe, Jr. Mrs. Joseph B. RnssELL
Mrs. John H. Fahet Mrs. Charles S. Sarobnt
Mrs. a. Lincoln Filene Mrs. J. Montoomert Seabb
Mbs. Williau A. Gaston Mbs. Geoboe S. Suith
Mbs. Robebt S. Gobhau Mrs. Jambs J. Storrow
Mbb. John Hats Hauuond Mrs. James T. Wxtheraij)
Mrs. EuQENa C. Hui/tman Mrs. Robert Winbor
Mas. Mart Morton Eehew Mrs. Rooer Wolcott
MiSB Katherinb LoRDia Mbs. Eihjar N. WRiaHTiNoTON
SPECIAL COMMITTEES
ACCOMPANYIKO DELEX3ATE8 ON THE AMERICAN TOUB
Honorary Commiilee
J. Randolph Coolidob, Fimt Vice-Fiesident Boston Chamber of Commeioe
Edward A. Filene, Vice-President Fifth IntemationBl Congrees
Committee on Tour Atrangemenia
John H. Fahbt, Chainnao
H. H. Davenport, BoetoD Chamber of Comnierce
Jahxs A. McKirben, Secretary Boston Chamber of Comineroe
Robert J. Bottomlt, Secretary Boston E]xeeutive Committee
Julian Moseno-Lacalle, Delegate of the Pan-American Uiiion
Da. Albert C. Bonaschi, Italian Chamber of Commerce New York, N.Y.
David Montf, Delegate of "Sociedad de Fomento Fabril," Santiago, Chile
Chableb LeDbuc, Assistant Secretary
Mbs. Chableb LbDeuc, Secretary of the Ladies' CommiHee
James J. Conbot, Assistant Secietaiy
John F. O'Connell, Secretory on Publici^
P. D. Callvm, Representing the Western Union Tel^raph Co.
Repreienlalwea of the Botlon & AUxmy Railroad
Chableb E. Colont James Grat J. E. Swehnxt
Preaa RepreienlatitiM
Habbt Hote, T7nit«d Press
Ebnbbt 0. Hall, "Christian Science Monitor"
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 109
WORCESTER COMMITTEES
The ChtumiMi of the Cotiunitt«efl appointed by the Wotceeier Board ot Trade were u
foUows:
Edwabd M. Woodwakd, General Committee
LouiB H. Bucki:bt, Committee on Itinerary
Gbobqe M. Babsutt, Committee on Banquet
Albkbtt H. Inuas, Committee on Automobiles
Chablbs T. Tatkai4, Committee on InvitationB
Fbxd H. Daniei«, Committee on Congreee
C. Herbert DeFosbe, Committee on Interpreton
Hbnbt a. Macoowan, Committee on Ladies
Gboboe a. Park, Committee on Banquet Decorations
AUBTIH P. Cbibit, Committee on Exterior Deooratione
WAi;rER H. Allek, Committee on Tickets
Herbert N. Davison, Gen«^ Secretary
BUFFALO COMMITTEE
The Conmiittee appointed by the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce was as
W. E. RoBEBTBON, Chairman
E. J. Babcalo Darwim D. Mabtih
Charles Cufton J. G. H. Mabtut
Wu. E. Cbosbt E. a. Meldruh
J. C. Dold F. W. Pardee
Jambs F. Foster Edoknb A. WoLrt
DETROIT COMMITTEES
The Committeee appointed by the Detroit Board of Commerce were as foDows:
COMBnTTBB OH BHTERTAIHlfBirT
Ward N. Choate, Chairman
Mnaoti A. McRae Phiup BBxmfBTER
Joseph Mack C. Lbidich
J. J. Crowlet Charles B. Sattbb
H. T. Btald C. H. Gmoan
HiB^M Marks
COmOTTEE OH TOVR
Rot D. Chapin, Chairman
Qbobqe M. B1.ACK J. W. Akdbrbon
S. D. Waldon Lxicnjs E, Wilbom
C. Hainxb Wiuoh
coumnxB oh bahqust
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
COMHtTTKB OR PDTAHCI
M. J. McRPKT, Cb&irmui
A. E. Gbxxn, Jb. J. NEim>N Gunh
J&MBB T. Wbitxhkad
COMHTTTBB OM TRAirSPOKTAnOM
George W. Pabksb
COHKITTEB OH BBCBPTIOH
Wabd N. Choatk
Philip Bheitiieteb
Lucius E. Wilson
COlOflTTKB OH LADIZS
Mas. R. H. AsHBAUOH
CHICAGO COMMITTEES
In additioa to the great Reception Committee oonttuning 200 members, the bcUtc Com-
mitteee in Chicago were:
nscimvB coMUii'iKi
T. Edwaed Wiu>xb, Chairman; Chicago As»D«iation of Commerce
Fbank M. Bunch, Vice-Chairman; Board of Trade of the City of CSucago
Ghobob M. Retnolds, Treasurer; Continental and Commercial National Bank
DouoLAB Malloch, Secretary; Preee Club of Chicago
EuiBB H. Adams, Chicago Anociation of Commerce
Jambs S. Aoab, Chicago Aseociation of Commerce
Wiluam B. Austin, Hamilton Club of Chicago
Alfbed Bakxb, City Club
Mas. George Bass, Chicago Woman's Club
Fbedericx Bode, Industrial Club
Wiluam A. Bond, Chicago Association of Commerce
MiBB 8. P. Breckinridob, Woman's City Club
Ira M. Cobe, Chicago Automobile Club
James G. Condon, Iroquois Club
Richmond Dean, Chicago Association of Commerce
Fbedericx A. Delano
Samuel Deutsch, Standard Club
F. W. Edwasds, Illinois Club
Wauer Fttcb, South Shore Country Club
Hamlin Gabland, Cliff Dwellers
H. C. Gardner, Chicago Association of Commerce
August Gatzebt, Chicago Association of Commerce
John M. Glenn, Illinois Manufacturers' Association
Ghableb E. Gbeoobt, Chicago Motor Club
RicoABD C. Hall, Chicago Association of Commerce
Carter H. Harrison, MiQn>r of City of Chicago
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 111
Da. A. W. Habbib, Union League Chib
W. A. Heath, Bankera' Club
Dk. EifiL G. HmBCH, Sin&i Temple
Lawkbncz Hetworth, Calumet Club
Joseph Jotcs, IriBh FellowBhip Club
AiiEXANDEB A. McCoBMiCE, Chairman Reception Committee, Chicago Aesociation of Com-
F. B. MoNToouEBY, Traffic Club of Chicago
Fbedbbice S. Olitxb, Chicago Real Estate Board
Chableb Piez, lUinoiB Manufacturera' Association
Wx. H. Rehu, Chicago Association of Commeroe
JUUUB ROSENWAUI
Habbt Rubens, Jb., Germauia Club
John 8- Rumnello, Chicago Club
Fbank T. ScANiiAN, Chicago Transportation Aesociation
Fbancis T. SoiuoNS, Chicago Association of Commerce
Edwabd M. Sxihheb, Chicago Association of Commerce
John F. Shuuki, Chicago Association of Commerce
John T. Stockton, Chicago Association of Commerce
Albert Wahl, Cook County Real Estat« Board
Chableb J. Webb, Illinois Athletic Club
Cablbton White, Chicago Athletic Association
TaouAS E. WuaoN, Chicago Association of Commerce
nSillCB COmOTTBE
Qbobqb M. Retnoldb, Chairman
Habbt A. Whebleb, Vice-Chairman
Fbbderice Bode Cabteb H. Habribon
James 8. Aoab EttOEHE V. Kdibabk
Fbank M. Bunch Charles Piee
Chables G. Dawes John C. Roth
RtCHUONp Dean Julius Robehwald
H. C. Gabsnub John F. Smulsei
John M. Gi^nn Feed W. Upbau
John H. Wood
BHTSKTJUmiXKT COHiaTTBB
Fbank M. Bunch, duunnan
F. B. Montqouebt Chables E. Greoort.
C. E. Babtlet Johm E. Wilder
RicHABD C, Hall John T. Stockton
Geoboe E. Mabct Fbancis T. Siumons
N. H. Van Sickian
poBuarr cohiotteb
DouoLAS M allocs, Chturman
Malcolm McDowell William Hudson Harper
Hubert F. Millxb
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
CINCINNATI COMMITTEES
OBmRAL COMHITTBB
RepretenHnD ti»e Cineianaii BvttMW Men't Clvb, The CincmnaU Chamber t^
Commeree, The Ctnemnati Commereial A»eocuili<m
W. E. HuTTON, Ch&irmuk; President The Buameas Men'a Club
Thob. p. Eoam, Vice-Chairman
Wautsb a. Drapbr, Vic&Ob&innan; Freeident Chamber of Commerce
Georoe F. Dixterlb, Vice^hainnan; Preeident Cincumati Commeroial Asaoci&tion
Otto Aruledzb, Treasurer
Carl Dehonxt, Secretary; Secretary and Manager Cincinnati Commercial AseoeiatioD
Qeokqb Puchta, Chairman Eotertaimnent Committee
BSCBPTIOM COiaOTTBB
£. H. Bardes
Wu. A. Hopkins
Saitokl L. Moteb
E. L. Steknbkrobb
Fredebick a. Geidb
Chas. Wiedeuamn
H. C. Matheb
H. F. Cellasius
James N. Qahble
William Lodob
James P. O9B
HeRUAM KlBSCHNSB
E. W. Edvards
C. W. Shiplbt
J. B. DoAN
Max Hibbch
Georob W. Webdoh
ThOMAB I. SCHDLTX
Rm>OLPH H. WURLITZBB
J. F. Tatlob
E. F. DuBbul
D. B. Mbacham
B. H. Eroger
Wm. H. Muknch
E. F. LuNKEN
Wh. B. Melisb
Maurice J. Frbirbbo
Leonard B. Smith
Julius FLEiscHMAim
A. P. Haoemetxr
Charles Ptau
W. W. Tatlob
C. L. Harrison
Georqb R. Balch
r. Chairman
E. W. Lynb
Jameb C. Hobart
H. T. Atkins
81 P. EOAN
H. C. Yeiber
A. W. Macrbair
J. R. Clark.
Irwik M. Kbohn
R. E. Le Blond
H. B. Clobson
DwiflBT S. MABniLD
T,t»>Bn KaHH
J. Charles McCuLLOuaH
G. A. WlLLET
Wm. L. Doefkb
R. A. CowiNo
W. H. SCHMIDLAPP
E. P. Harbison
Henrt E. Deckebach
b. f. dclwebsr
L. A. Aui/r
Frank H. Sdifbon
Geo. B. Hawlbt
W. D, Thalhedceb
MURRAT ShIPLET
Jos. T. Carxw
Hon. J. B. Forakxb
Wm. a. Windisch
Napoleon DcBrul
AuKED K. Nifpbrt
Charles Lewis
Frankun Ai/tes
J. Stacet Hill
Geoboe W. Martin
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
N. W. SntOBHiDaE Ph. Mobton
Edwasd G. Ptad T. J. Momn
John E. C. Kohuaat B. W. Campbell
Ed. Fuckeb Auoust Ferozb
James C. Eenst H. 0. Wbntb
DAYTON COMMITTEE
Th« Dajrton Chamber of Commerce was assisted hj the Welfare Department of the
National Cash Register Company, the Dayton Bicycle Club and a Citiiens' Reception Com-
mittee of One Hundred. The Committee of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce was as foUowe:
PITTSBURGH COMMITTEES
The Del^ates were the gueste of the Chamber of Commerce and the Giy of Pittsbui^,
the principal Officials and Committees being B« follows:
CEAUBEA OF COHHESCK OF PITTSBUUGH
William H. Stevbnbon, President
D. P. Black, Fust Vice-President
Robert Gablaitd, Second Vice-President
John B. Babboub, lliird Vice-President
H. M. Landib, Treasurer
LooAN McKbb, Secretary
RoBT. W. Babboub, Assistant Secretary
Ira S. Bassbtt, TraiBc Manager
COHHITTEK OH BarrBKTAinUBItT
W. S. Brown, Chairman
James Fbancis Bobkb A. A. Hambbschlao
David F. Colunowood T. J. Kebnan
Wm. H. Davis Fbank J. Lanahan
William Flinn H. M. Landib
Wm. M. Fubxt R. L. O'Donnel
C. A. Rook
CITT OF PITTSBITKOE
Hon. Wm. A. Maobb, Mayor
Council
Hon. E. V. Babcock Hon. J. P. McAbdle
Hon. Robert Gabland Hon. Enoch Rauh
Hon. W. a. Hobteles Hon. W. G. Wilkins
Hon. J, P. Kerb Hon. S. S. Woodbubn
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
WASHINGTON COMMITTEE
The Cotiiinitt«e representing the Waahington Ch&mber of Commerce was as followe:
D. J. KiunuH, ChiurmaD
Jaueb F. Otbteb D. J. Cai
Tbomas Grant
PHILADELPHU COMMITTEES
The Committeea appointed by the oommercial OTgaDiiations of Philadelphia wf
followe:
BXBCirnVB COMMtTTIB
Edward R. Wood, Chairman
Charles Z. Trtoh B. Franklin Betts
Db. Williau p. Wilson Wiluax R. Tucxer, Secretary
JOINT coHMrrm
PhUaddpkia Board of Trade
Edward R. Wood Frank D. La Lanne
Chas. J. Cohen
PkHaddpkia Boutm
Geo. R. Yabbow Philip Qodlbt
Ctbub Borgner
PhUadelphia Marilime Bxehanne
E. R. Sbabwood Walter F. Haqar
Jas. B. Bonner
Philadelphia Chamber <tf Commerce
Chaa. Z. Thton. K. B. Kellt
W. O. Hempstead
Philadelphia Drug Exehange
Ceas. E. Hibrs , A. Robinson MclLyAiNB
Antbomt M. Hance
Maater Buildere' Exehati^
Wh. B. Ibtink
Philadelphia Commercial Exchange
Sauubl L. McKnioht Lome G. Qratt
Watson W. Wai/ton
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Qroeenf and Importer^ Exchange
Wu. 0. Halpkh, Jb. H. H. Bbowh
H. G. Flimt
MenJiani^ and Manvfacturer^ AstodaUon
Calvik M. Smtth J. HoTXLL CuioiiNaa
Fbakk S. Etaks
Lumbermen'* Exehattge
B. Frawxltn Betib 8. B. Vroomam
Tbob. B. Hahueb
Hardware Menlianle' and Manvfaeturer^ Asaodalion
T. Jaios Fbbnibt Dr. E. E. Bbown
Fkamk Gould
Commercial Museum
Db. Wm. p. Wilbok
Maru^aeturer^ Club
Tbos. F. Aaiamoita J. Howsll CinonMas
Ctbob H. K. CcBTts
NEW YORK COMMITTEES
» Jn additioi) to tbe hage Reception Committee, the ftctive Oeuenl Committee in New
Toric WR0 H foQows:
The Merchania' Association of Neio York
WttAAAM A. MabblB' Hebhan a. Mbix
William Csawtobs Louis Amnin Aus
BwuAiON D. Traitbl Tboiias H. Dovnimo
Marcus M. Mabxb John W. Lixb, Jb.
S. C. Mbad, SecretArjr
The Chamber of Commerce of the Slate of New Yori
Wrldiko RiNa E. H. Ootxbbbidob
Chablbs L. Bbrnhedizr Juuo F. Sobzano
Madbicb L. Muhleuan S. 6. Pratt, Secretar;
The New York Prodvee Exchange
John Abfkorxn E. R. Carsabt
J. G. Gash William H. DoiriiLAB
Charles W. Bowmiia W. B. Pollock
L. B. Howe, Secietaiy
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
American Manvfaetwtrs' Export Association
MOBXISA ROBKKT C. KAlOfKBZB
SiDTB W. N. Dickinson
H. T. WiLLB, Secretary
The Pan-American Society
C. A. Gbmkn WiLLiAif C. DovNB
Luis F. Cob>a Tbomas A. Eddt
Fbkdebic Brown, Secretary
The Italian Chamber of Commerce of New York
SCHBOKDBB GUBTIV POBOKB
SoL&Bi Ebcole Locatelu
ACHILLB StABACS
The NelherUmds Chamber of Commerce in America
P. A. PiNcoFra P. C. Ktttfeh
T. Gbbtdanos, Secretary
The Swedish Chamber of Commerce qf Neto York
G. H. LnniBxcx Count J. W. H. Haiolton
AlVBBD RlCHABUeON E. E. JOHNBON
Hamb LAOBBLOr, Secretary
ConaoUdaied Stock Exchange
M. E. DB AOUBBO
Digitized byGoOgIC
Xiit of Commerttal <^rgam?atJon£
IFRLUTBD WITH THE PERIIABBRT COUHITTSB OV THE IHTBRIUTIOITAL COKOKX8SBS
or CHAMBERS OP COmiERCB AITD COHMXRCUL AHD IKDIJSTRIAL
ASSOOATIOHS, IfU
AUSTKU-HUnCART
AUSTRIA
Bcae'n — Chtunber of Commerce and Industry
Brilnn — Chamber of Commerce ajid Industry
Cracow — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Egei — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
GOritz — CSiamber of Commrace and Industry
Gnz — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Innsbmck — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
EUEenfnrth — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Laibach — Chamber of Commerce and Indiistry
L«mberg — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Otanfltz — Qiomber of Commerce and Industry
Pnsen — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Prague — Chamber of Conmnerce and Industry
Pragne — The Export Association of Bohemia, Silesia and Moraria
Prague — Nove Obchodni Gremium
Sagnsa — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Reichenbeig — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Soreredo — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Sorigo — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Trieste — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Tnvpau — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
^leniu — Qiamber of Commerce and Industry
menim — Association of Colonial Produce Merchants
nrana — Austrian Export Society
Wenna — Centra) Association of Austrian Manufacturers
Vieniui — Central Association of Austrian Merchants
VioiuuL — Lower Austrian Association for the Promotion of Handicraft
VioiuuL — Manufacturers' Association
Vienna — Merchants' Guild
117
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
HUNGABY
Agram (Croatia) — Chamber of Coimnerce and iDdustry
And — Chamber of Commerce and Industiy
BioBGo — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Badapeet — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Budapest — AesociatioQ of Hungarian Merchants
Budapest — Hungarian Commercial Association
Budapest — Hungarian Industrial Association
Budapest — Hungarian National Association of Chnnical Industry
Bndapeat — National Hungarian Commercial Association
Budapest — National Union of Hungarian Merchants
Debreczen — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Gyor — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Easchan — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Kolozsrar — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Kagyvarad — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Osijek-Bszek (Croatia-SlaTOnia) — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Pozsony — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Soproi^ — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Sz^edin — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Tsmesrax — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
BELGIDU
Bruges — Chamber of Commerce
Brussels — Chamber of Commerce
Brussels — L' Association g^nSrale dee Meunien Beiges
Brussels — L'AsBociation des Fabricants de Glacee
Brussels — British Chamber of Commerce of Belgium
Biussels — French Chamber of Commerce
Brussels — French Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Biussels — Italian Chamber of Commerce
BmsselB — Netherlands Chamber of Commerce
Bmssels — Union of International Associations
Charleroi — French Chamber of Commerce
Ctntrtroi-Roulers — Chamber of Commerce
Ghent — Commercial and Industrial Club
Ghent — L' Association cotonni^re
Hasselt — Chamber of Commerce of Limbourg
liige — La Bourse Industrielle
Ijdge — L' Association des Liccnci^ sortis de rUniversit^ de Li^
Hons — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Hons — L' Association houill^re du Couchant
Ostend — Chamber of Commerce
Tpres — Commercial and Industrial Club
BRAZIL
Honaos — Commercial Association of the Amazon
Para — Garantia da Amazonia
Kio de Janeiro — Academy of Commerce
Kio de Janeiro — Commercial Association
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Rio d« Jtneiro — Commercial Muaeum
Rio d« JuMiro — Council of the Merchanta and Ship Brokers
Rio d« Janeiro — Federation of Commercial AaeociationB of Brasit
Rio d« Janeiro — International Chamber of Commerce ot Braiil
Santos — Commercial Association
BULGARU
PIordiT (FUlippopoUa) — Chamber of Commerce
Knstchnck — Chamber of Commerce
Sofia — C3iamber of Commerce
Vanui — Chamber of Commerce
Vanui — La Corporation des N^gociante en C^r^ales
- Sociedad de Fomento Fabril
— French Chamber of Commerce
Hongkong — See Yap Commercial Guild
flhartgtiat ^ General Chamber of Commerce
Havana — Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of the Island of Cuba
Havana — Vtatm of Manufacturers of Liquors and Distillers of the Island of Cuba
Copenhagtn — Chamber of Commerce
Copenhagen — Grosserer Societetets Komite
Gnayaqiiil — Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture
Qnito — Chamber of Commerce
EGYPT
Cairo — International Chamber of Commerce
FRANCE
Ageo — Chamber of Commerce
Angonltaie — Chamber of Commerce
Bai-lo-Ihic — Chamber of Commerce
BeUort — Chamber of Commerce
Botng (Ain) — Chamber of Commerce
BotngeB — Chamber of Commerce
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Dunfelfk — Chamber of Commerce
Honflenr — Chamber of Commerce
Limoges — Chamber of Coouneice
ManeillM — Chamber of Commerce
HaruiUes — Syndicat dea Importateure de Crainee OI^agiDeiuefl
HontpeUer — Chamber of Commerce
Nanc]' — Chamber of CommMce
Nantes — Chamber of Commerce
Paris — Chamber of Commerce
Paris — American Chamber of Comfflerce
Paris — Auetiia-Himgarian Chamber of Commerce
Paris — Belgwn Chamber of Commerce
Paris — British Chamber of Commerce
Paris — Itahan Chamber of Commerce
Paris — Netherlands Chamber of Commerce
Paris — Ottoman Chamber of Commerce
Paris — HuBsian Chamtier of Commerce
Paris — Spanish Chamber of Commerce
Paris — Union dee Cbambree de Commerce franfaiBea k 1'£tranger
Paris — Comity commercia] franco-allemand
Reims — Chamber of Commerce
Ronbaiz — Qkamber of Commerce
Rouen — Chamber of Commerce
Tonrcoing — Chamber of Commerce
Tours — Chamber of Commerce
Versailles — Chamber of Commerce
FRENCH POSSESSIONS — ALGIERS
Oran — Chamber of Commerce
Philipperille — Chamber of Commerce
GBRMAmr
Alz-la-Chapelle — Chamber of Commerce
Barman — Chamber of Commerce
Berlin — Deuteoher Handelstag
Beriln — Die Xlteeten der Kaufmannschaft Ton Berlin
Berlin — Chamber of Commerce
Berlin — Eandelsvertrageverein
Berlin — Verband deutscher Waren- und Kaufh&user
Berlin — American Association of Commerce and Trade
Berlin — Coitralverband dea deutschen Bank- und Bankie^ewerbes
Berlin — Deubsch-franzOeischer Wirtschaftsverein
Bonn — Chamber of Commerce
Bremen — Chamber of Commerce
Breslau — Chamber of Commerce
Brunswick — Chamber of Commerce
Chemnita — Chamber of Ctmimerce
Cologne — Chamber of Commerce
Ctdogne — Gewerbe-Verein
Ctdogno — International Association of Hotel'keepers
Cologne — Verein der ludustriellen des Begierungs-Besirks
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Danzig — Vorateheramt der Kauf DtaimBohaf t
Dortmnnd — Chamber of Commerce
Dresden — Chamber of Commerce
Dresden — Esport-Verein im KSnigieich Sachsen
Dresden — Verbond s&chsiecbeT Indus trieller
Dflsseldoit — Chamber of Commerce
Dflsseldoif — Netherlands Chamber of Commerce
Elbeif eld — Chamber of Commerce
Erfurt — Chamber of Commerce
Essen — Chamber of Commerce
FranUort-on-tbe-Haln — Chamber of Commerce
PMnUort-on-tb«-Hain — Vereinigimg der Exportfiimen
Halborstadt — Chamber of Commerce
Halle — Chamber of Commerce
Hamburg — Chamber of Commerce
Hanorer — Chamber of Commerce
Heidelberg — Chamber of Conunerce
Hildesheim — Chamber of Commerce
Karisnihe — HandelskfuDiner for die Kreise Karlsruhe und Baden
EMigsbers — Verein deut«oher Ingenieure
I^ipzic — Chamber of Commerce
Iifibeck — Chamber of Commerce
Magdeburg — Chamber of Commerce
Uannheim — Chamber of Commerce
Httnster — Chamber of Commerce
n«DgeT>doif — Vetband B&chsiacher Industrieller
Nuremberg — Chamber of Commerce
Plauen — Chamber of Commerce
Regensbnrg — Chamber of Commerce
Sonneberg — Chamber of Commerce
Soran — Chamber of Conunerce
Stolberg — Chamber of Commerce
Stiassburg — Chamber of Commerce
Stuttgart — Chamber of Commerce
Treves — Chamber of Commerce
Wtnbing — Chamber of Commerce
OBEAT BRITAIN AlID BRITKH POSSESSIOHS
ENQIAND
Burow-ln-FumeBS — CSiamber of Commerce
Birkenhead — Chamber of Commerce
Bradford — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce
Bradford — Dyera' Association
Bristol — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce and Shipping
Cheltenham — Chamber of Commerce
&oydon — Chamber of Commerce
Derby — Chamber of Commerce
Dudley — Chamber of Commerce
Halifax — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce
Huddersfield — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce
Liverpool — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce
Digitized byGoOgIC
122 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
London — British Imperial Council o( Commerce
London — Chamber of Commerce
London — Wholesale Stationeia' Aesooiation
London — Austria-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce
London — Canadian Chamber of Commerce
London — Netherlands Chamber of Commerce
London — Swedish Chamber of Commerce
Iiondon — Federation of Foreign Chambers of Commerce in the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland
Hanchester — British Weighte & Meflsui«e Association
Hottingham — Chamber of Ccxnmerce
Reading — Chamber of Commerce
Sheffield — Chamber of Commerce
Wakefield — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce and Shipping
Walsall — Incorporated Chamber of Commotse
IRELAND
Cork — Incorporated Chamber of Commerce and Shipping
Dublin — Chamber of Commerce
SCOTLAND
Aberdeen — Chamber of Commerce
Dundee — Chamber of Commerce
Edinburgh — Chamber of Commeroe and Manufocturo^s
Leith — Chamber of Commeroe
BAHAMAS
ITmmu — The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce
HamUtoD — Chamber of Ctmimerce
BEITIHH EAST AFRICA
Nairobi — Chamber of Commerce
CANADA
BellerlUe — Board of Trade
Honcton — Board <^ Trade
Hontienl — Board of Trade
Uontieal — Chamber of Commrace
Montreal — L' Association dea Marchanda dfitaHleurs du Canada
Now Westminster — Board of Trade
OtUwa — Board of Trade
Quebec — Board of Trade
Sherbnwke — Board of Trade
St. Catharine's — Board of Trade
St. John, M.B. — Board of Trade
Toronto — Board of Trade
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMEBCE 123
INDU
CalcntU — Bengal Chamber of Conunerce
DelU — Punjab Chamber of Commerce
JAMAICA
KinsBton — Royal Jamaica Society of Agriculture and Commerce & Merchanta' Exchange
NEW ZEALAND
Atukland — Chamber of Commerce
Christchurch — Canterbury Chamber of Commerce
Dnnedin — Chamber of Commerce
Invercafgin — Chamber of Commerce
Hapier — Chamber of Commerce
Waogairai — Chamber of Commerce
WeUlDgtoa — Chamber of Commerce
SINGAPORE
Singapore — Chijieee Chamber of Commerce
SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town — South African Manufacturen' ABSOciation
TRINIDAD
Port of Spain — Chamber of Commerce
Atliena — American Chamber of Commerce for the Levant
Patraa — Chamber of Commerce
nneu — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
HONDURAS
Tegucigalpa — Chamber of Conmierce
ITALY
Aleiiandfig — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Boil — Chamber of Commerce
Bergamo — Chamber of Commerce
Bologna — Chamber of Commerce
Breida — Chamber of Commerce
Coiian — Chamber of Commerce
Catania, SkUy — Chamber of Commerce
Catnnzan — Chamber of Commerce
,y Google
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Caaeo — Chamber of Commerce
Fenno — Chamber of Commerce
Florence — Chamber of Commerce and Indiutiy
FoggU — Chamber of Commerce
Genoa — British Chamber of Commerce
Giii;«nti — Chamber of Conuaerce
Lecce — Chamber of Commerce
Lodi — Chamber of Commerce
Lucca — Chamber of Commerce and Induoby
Hllan — Chamber of Commerce
Milan — Aasociasione fro Commercianti, Esercenti ed Industriali
Milan — Aesociazone fro Commercianti ed Industriali in Pellicceiie
Milan — Associacione Granaria
Milan — Circolo per gli Intereaai AgricoU, Commerciali ed Indostiiali
Milan — Consonio fro gli Induatriali meccanici e metaliurgici
Milan — Federadone Commerciale e Industriale Italiana
Milan — Foderosione IntemaEionale Cotoniero
Milan — Agricultural Association of Lombardy
Modena — Chamber of Commerce
Monza — Federaiione Industriali
Naples — Chamber of Commerce
Naples — American Chamber of Commerce in Itafy
Padua — Chamber of Commerce
Palermo — Chamber of Commerce
Placenza — Chamber of Commerce
Pisa — Chamber of Commerce
Rome — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Snsa — Societi Anonima Banchiero
Syracuse — Chamber of Commerce
Turin — Chamber of Commerce
Turin — Associaiione Geneiale esercenti, commercianti ed industriali
Venice — Chamber of Commerce
Verona — Chamber of Commerce
JAPAN
Kobe — Chamber of Commerce
Osaka — Chamber of Commerce
To^o — Chamber of Commerce
Tokohanu — Chamber of Commerce
TokObama — Foreign Board of Trade
LTTXEUBOURG
Lozemboo^ — CSuunber of Commerce
Hermodllo — Chamber of Ccnnmerce
Vera Cniz — National Chamber of Commerce
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE
IIBTHERLAin>S
Amsterdun — Chamber of Commerce
Dordrecht — Ch&mber of Commerce and Industiy
Haulem — Chamber of Commerce
Huriem — Ma&tachappi} van Ntjveriieid
Rotterdam — Chamber of Commerce and Industry
TObnrg — Chamber of Commerce and Induetiy
Vlaardisgen — Chamber of Commerce and Iiufiutry
HORWAT
Bergen — Chamber of C
Bergen — The Bourse
Christianla — Den Norake ExporinKimgera Landaforbund
Christiania — Den Norske Ftelleeforening for Haandverk og Industri
Chrlstianla — Den Norake Handelsstanda Fffilleaforening
Cluiatiania — Chamber of Comza^rtx
Chriadanla — Handelsatands Porening
Christianla — Import-Export Agenteis Foiening
Trondl^ent — Chamber of Commerce
Callao — Chamber of Commerce
Lima — Chamber of Commerce
Lima — Stock Exchange
Ptuia — Chamber of Commerce
PORTUGAL
BItbs — Commercial, InduHtrial and Agricultural Aaaociation
Lisbon — Agricultural, Commercial and Indiutrial Union
Lisbon — Centro Colonial
Lisbon — Commerdal Association
Lisbon — Geographical Society
Lisbon — British Chamber of Commerce in Portugal
PORTUGUESE POSSESSIONS — AZORES
Ponta Delgada, Slo Hlgnel — Commercial Aaaociation
Bucharest — American Chamber of Commerce for the Levant
Cnjovn — Chamber of Commerce
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
RUSSIA
Baku, Tnuucauckda., Asiatic RoBsia. — ChAmbcr of Commerce
Helsiiigf OTS — Finslu Handeledelegationen
Riga — Bourse
^St. PeteraburE — Anoci&tion of Industry and Commerce of Rusaia
St. Petersburg — Rusao-British Chamber of Commcxoe
Warsaw — Towarsyatwo Preemyriowcdw
Warsaw — Aasociation of Polish Merchants
SPAIN
BarcolMUt — Chamber of Conunetoe, Industry and Navigation
Barctimu — Fomento del Trabajo Naeional
BarcelcHUi — French Chamber of Commerce
Oeiona — Official Chamber of Conunerce, Industry and Navigation
Madrid — Official Chamber of Commerce of tliB Provinoe
Madrid — Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigatkui
Madrid — Official Chamber of Industry of the Province
Madrid — French Chamber of Commerce
S«nigoss« — Official Chamber of Commeroe and Industry
Valenda — Chamber of Commerce
Valkdolid — Official Chamber of Commeroe and Industry
Gefie — Chamber of Commerce
Gfltebois — Chamber of Commerce
JSnkt^tng — Chamber of Commerce
Malms — Chamber of Commerce
Stockholm — General Ebcport Aseociation of Sweden
Stockholm — Chamber of Commeroe
Stockholm — Merchants' Oub
SWrTZBELABD
Basel — Chamber of Commerce
Berne — Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the Canton
Genera — Swiss Union of Commerce and Industry
Geneva — Chamber of Commerce
Geneva — French Chamber of Commerce
Geneva — ItaUan Chamber of Commerce
St. Gall — Directorium de« N^gociants
Ztuich — CSiamber of Commeroe
Constantinople — Ammcan Chamber of Commerce for the Levant
Constantinople — Hellenic Chamber of Commerce
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
UnnXD STATES OF AMERICA
Akron, Ohio — Chamber of Commeroe
Albanj, H. 7. — Chamber of Commerce
Baltimore, Hd. — Board of Trade
Bangor, Maine — Maine State Board of Trade
Bay CIt7, Mich. — Board of Commeroe
Birmingham, Ala. — Chamber of Commerce
Boaton, Maaa. — Chamber of Commerce
Boston, Maaa. — Fruit and Produce Exchange
Boston, Maaa. — Maaaachuaettfi State Board of Trade
Boaton, Maaa. — Music Trade AssDciation
Boston, Maaa. — New England Hardware Dealers' Aaaociation
BostMi, Haas. — New England Shoe and Leather Association
Boston, Maaa. — Real Estate Exchange and Auction Board
Boaton, Mass. — Stationera' Association
Brockton, Mass. — Chamber of Commeroe
BnfMo, n. T. — Chamber of Commerce
Chicago, DL — Association of Commerce
Chicago, m. — Board of Trade
Chicago, ID. — Dlinoifl Manufacturers' Association
Chicago, HI. — National Business League of America
Clndnnatl, Ohio — Business Men's Club
Cincinnati, Ohio — Chambw of Commerce
Clncmnatl, Ohio — Commercial Association
Cleveland, Ohio — ChamtKr of Commerce
Dallas, Texas — Chamber of Commeroe
Darei^ort, Iowa — Commercial Club
Davenport, Iowa — Greater Davenport Committee
Dajton, Ohio — Chamber of Commeroe
Decatnr, m. — Chamber of Commerce
Denver, Colo. — Chamber of Commeroe
Detroit, Mich. — Board of Commerce
Eureka, Calif. — Humt>oldt Chamber of Commerce
Fall River, Hass. — Chamber of Commerce
Fltchbnrg, Haas. — Board of Trade and Merchants' Association
Fort Worth, 'Texas — Chamber of Commerce
Framingham, Mass. — Board of Trade
Geneva, H. T. — Chamber of Commeiee
Haverhill, Maaa. — Board of Trade
Holfoke, Mass. — Board of Trade
Houston, Ttfxaa — Chamber of Commerce
Indianapolis, lad. — Board of Trade
Indianapolis, Ind. — Commercial Club
Kalamazoo, Hlch. — Conunercial Club
Kansas Ci^, Mo. — Commercial Club
Key West, Fla. — Chamber of Commerce
Kingston, H . T. — Chamber of Commerce
Loa Angeles, Calif. — Chamber of Commerce
Louisville, Kj. — Board of Trade
LoweO, Hass. — Board of Trade
Lynn, Hass. — Board of Trade
Lynn, Hass. — Merchants' Aaeociation
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
H«ld«ii, Hms. — Boud o[ Trade
Milwaukee, yfiM. — Chamber of Commerce
Hlnneapolia, Hlnn. — Civic and Commerce Association
Newark, N. J. — Boaid of Trade
new Bedford, Hbm. — Board of Trade
New BHtain, Conn. — BuBiness Men's Associatioii
newbniypoit, H«m. — Businew Men's AsBociation
New Haven, Conn. — Chamber of Commerce
New London, Conn. — State BuaineaB Men's Association
New Orleans, La. — Progressive Union
New Toric, N. T, — American Manufacturers' Export Association
New York, N. T. — Board of Trade and TransporUtion
New Toric, N. T. — Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York
n«w York, N. T. — Merchants' AasoHaation
Hew York, N. Y. — National Asoociation of Manufaeturen
New York, N. Y. — North Side Board of Trade, Borough of the Bronx
New York, N. Y. — Produce Exchange
New York, N. Y. — Italian Chamber of Commerce
New Yoik, N. Y. — Netherlands Chamber of Commerce in America
New Yoric, N. Y. — Swedish Chamber of Commerce
Norfolk, V«. — Board of Trade and Buainess Men's Aesociation
North Attleboro, Haas. — Board of Trade
OaUand, Calif. — Chamber of Conunerce
Pasaaic, N. J. — New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce
Philadelphia, Pa. — Board of Trade
Philadelphia, Pa. — Boune
Philadelphia, Pa. — Chamber of Commerce
Philadelphia, Pa. — Commercial Museum
Philadelphia, Pa. — Maritime Exdiange
Philadelphia, Pa. — National Board of Trade
Pine BlnS, Ark. — Chamber of Commerce
Pittsbnri^, Pa. — Chamber of Ctanmerce
Portland, Maine — Board of Trade
Providence, R. I. — Board of Trade
Providence, R. I. — Manufacturing JeweletB' Boaid of Trade
Readhig, Pa. — Board of Trade
Rochester, N. Y. — Chamber of Commerce
Rome, N. Y. — Chamber of Commerce
Bkhmoad, Va. — Chamber of Commerce
Sacramento, Calif. — Chamber of Commerce
St. Lonis, Ho. — Business Men's League
St. Lottia, Mo. — Merchants' Exchange
St. Paul, Minn. — Asaocistion of Commerce
San Antonio, Texas — Chamber of Commerce
San Prandsco, Calif. — Chamber of Commerce
Seattle, Wash. — New Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Somerrille, Mass. — Board of Tnde
Spokane, Wash. — Chamber of Commerce
Springfield, Hasa. — Board of Trade
Syracuse, N. Y. — Chamber of Commerce
Toledo, Ohio — Commerce Club
Troy, N, Y. — Chamber of Commerce
Waltbam, Mass. — Board of Trade
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE , 12
Wuhlngton, D. C. — Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America
Wublngtoa, D. C. — Chamber of Commerce
Wuhington, D. C. — Pan-American Union
Wasterij, R. I. — Board of Trade
WMcester, Mass. — Board of Trade
Yoragstoim, Ohio — Chamber of Commerce
PoBSxsaioNs or teb United States of Aicerica
HAWAII
Bonolnla — Chamber of Commerce
PHILIPPINE KLAND3
HanllA — Mendianta' Aaeociation
URUGUAY
HontnidM — Chamber of Commerce
HontnidM — C&mara Mercantil de Fioductoe del Pals
VBHfiZUBIA
Cuicu — Chamber of Commerce
Digitized byGoOgIC
DigilizedbyGoOgle
fttenograpfnc S^t^ott of 0Uitml ftesfstionff
I ranBHATIOHAL COITGRESS OF CHAMBERS OF COMUSRCS AMD COUHSSCUL AUD
IHDU8TSIAL ASSOOATIOIfS, AT BOSTOH, MASSACBUSEXTS, O.S.A.
8BPTBUBBR H, U AHD H
:fitat ^tgaim
la cEilled to order in Qie ball-room of the Copley Pl&za Hotel, at 10.28
T 24, 1912, President Louis Canon-Likiband in the chair. At the deak, Gen-
era] Secretary £iiiLii Jottrand and Dr. Max Apt.
On the platform, Bon. Chablxs Naoel, Secretary of Commerce and Labor for the United
States, Hon. Euoenx N. Fobs, Governor of Maseachusette, Eon. John F. FmaEKALD,
Mayor of Boeton, Mr. Edwaiid A. Fqxnx, Vice-President of the International Congreee
ud Mr. Gbobqii S. Skitb, President Boston Chamber of Commerce, 1911.
ADDRESS OP WELCOME
Hr. Geoif e S. Smith, Chairman <^ the BotUm Execuike ComviiUee and President of Ute
Botton Chamber oj Commenx, 1911
Delegates, Gentletoen, Friends from the four comers of this wide worid, I give you greeting.
On behalf of the Boeton Chamber of Commerce, the business men of Boston, the men
ud women who have for weeks and mouths labored hard and faithfully to make this Congreee
a great conatruotive suocess, I extend to you a most cordial and heartfelt welcome. (AppIauM.)
From the very first those of us who have been the more closely identified with the plans
Itx this Congress have had but one high conception.
The comer stone and the building to stand for international good wiU broi^t about
directly through the harmonising and unifying of great intematicmal commercial practices;
through commercial exchange between individuals and nations; those commercial exchanges
to be initiated and extended upon the highest lines of national and international probity and
hoDoi; upon the highest lines of individual dignity, integrity, with the keynote, the recognition
<rf mutuaUty of interest. (Applause.)
And in that spirit, gentlemen, and in recognition that our atmosphere here is permeated
with practical ideaUty, I ask the representatives of each of the forty-six nations of the earth
to, in turn, forge one link that stands for the commercial strength of your country, and bring
tiwee forty-six links and lay them here upon the forge of this Congress, and we in turn will
endeavor to take those links upon the anvil of international good will, and link them into a
mighty chain of international honor, of mutuaUty in commercial practice, and stretch that
diain all annind this world, encircling it securely with the compact commercial world repre-
131
Digitized byGoOgIC
132 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
sented by all the naticma, who are after all of one blood, and one aspiration and one putpoee,
and that the practical ideals may be bound blether, one and inseparable.
And in Qm epirit I give you Boston's cordial greeting and expreee Boston's most soUcitoiu
hope Ut&t this Congreas will immediately take form in constructive results, and that the infiu-
ence of this Fifth International Congreae will be cumulative, and go down throu^ all the ages,
spelling progress as to the equitable and harmonious relations between the nations of the
earth. {Prolonged appkaue.)
GentlemeD, we have ae one of the men of the United States to address you this moniing,
a nation's statesman who stands as one of our President's chief councillors in his Cabinet, who
ia the Secretaiy of the Department of Commerce and Labor, a man who has traveled up and
down the vast reaches of this country, that he might ctHne into touidi with the business men
of all sections, who can impress them, by his own personal word and hand, with his close and
intimate interests in the business world of his country. And therefore it becomes my bi^
honor to present the Secret&ry of the Department of Commerce and Labor, Hon. Cbabixb
Naqel, who will give you the greeting of the Gorermnent of the United States. {Appiatae.)
ADDRESS or WELCOME ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OP THE UmTBD
STATES OF AMERICA
Hon. Chailes Nagel, Secretary of Commerce and Labor
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
It is my great privil^e, in the name of the United States, to extend a hearty welcome to
the members of this Congress. And in doing so I wish to congratulate the United States upm
the fact that for this occasion this country was selected as the meetii^ place. And I want to
congratulate the United States upon the fact that the great city of Boston is fbe host for this
occasion, because the city of Boston has been a pioneer in promoting the idea of a closer com-
mercial organization in order th&t cities, states and countries may speak wiHi effect.
I am the more glad of this opportunity, because my short official experience has impressed
me with the importance of an organisation such as you have. As in our own countiy the im-
proved methods of communication bring ua closer together and help us realise that there is
no such thing as ultimate advantage at the unfair expense of our neighbor, so in an equal sense
the doeer communications between the countries make it manifest that between foreign coun-
tries there must be a better undetstanding {appUaue and expreasione of apprwnl), there must
be rules of the game that will make it possible ta base all transactions and to measure than
according te standards of equity and justice. ("fi«ar, heart" oJtd applause.)
I know it has been said that in international relations we have no law-giving power and
we have no tribunal to enforce a law. That is true. But in view of the tremendous trotd of
over-l^islation in practically all individual countries, I am not sure but what you may re-
ceive it as a subject of congratulation that there is at least <me field in Triiieh you, the acton
and the makers of etnomeroe, may have an opportunity to work out your own salvaticaL
(," Hear, heart" and applaute.) Those of ua who watch Uw toemendous multitude of new laws
must be impressed with the fact that there was great merit in the old ^ratem of working out
your rules of the game by the custom of the countiy. And if you have on understanding, if
you make your rules, and if you are put in a position to enforce ttkoee rules throu^ the agency
of your government, you may evolve a system of intemationsi commerical law more api to
re^Kmd intelligently te your needs than any l^islative body could provide.
Perhaps our country ou^t to confess that in some measure it is not quite up to the stand-
aids which have been attained in some other countries. Comparatively speaking, we are a
new country. For obvious reasons our attention has been centered upon domestic queetioiis.
We have been a country of such vast resources tiiat we have been able from time to time te
seek out new territory for the employment of our enugies within our own domain. But by
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 133
8 we are bound to recogniie that there ia a limit to that Bort of employment even in
our country with ail its vast resources.
We have a system of govenunent, besides, in which the individual state plays an impor-
tant part, and under that system much of our attention has been given to the adjustment of
just such questions involving interstate relations as you are here now engaged to consider with
respect to the great countries of the world. Furtliermore, we have had a protective system
which has served to center our attention more especially upon our own affairs. But in respect
to all these facta the trend is away from the past. We have entered the international field,
not only poUtically but commercially, and we are interestftd witb you in finding those stand-
ards and those rules by which international conmierce may be justly and sanely governed.
We are making progress. The department over which it is my privilege to preside is being
organised with a view to meet just that situation, and our Chambera of Commerce in this
country are awake to tbe fact that the old individualistic idea must be abandoned and that
it must be replaced by the idea of intelligent co-operation, upon the theory that ultimately
you must be willing to share with your neighbor.
Our cities no longer estimate their success by the failure of sister cities. Every city in our
Union reaUzeB that the advantage of every other city reflects upon it and that the failure of
any other city must likewise reflect upon it. The spirit of co-operation is abroad, and if that
be true within a country is it not equally true in the relations between foreign countries?
Is it too much to say that to-day a wholesome, prosperous, succeaaful country may justly
rejoice in the success of a neij^boring country? {Appbtwe.) Is it not true that our security
lies in the success of our neighbors and out Chief danger lies in the unrest to which our neigh-
bors may be subjected? {Applaute.)
I need not recite to you what the subjects for consideration in a Congress of this kind may
be. Your own program will indicate that better than I could state it. International relations
must have true standards. The integrity of the dollar means the integrity of every paper
based upon it: the integrity of money means tbe integrity of measure and weight; the char-
acter of measure and weight means the character of the goods; the character of the goods means
the honesty of the label and of every declaration made with respect to it. ("Hear, kearl"
and applmae.) The field ia a broad one. If you accomfdish nothing else, the very fact of our
meeting here together face to face could not be without its effect. Nothing is more dangerous
than long-range shootii^ and talking. When men get together face to face to consider their
wants, their needs and their rights; they come to the conclusion that after all we m^tily
resemble each other. Our desires are about the same, and our ambitions too, and by proper
consideration of these questions we will all come to the conclusion that each one of us needs,
as the foundation of his success, justice broad enough to be extended to his neighbor. More
than that, the spirit of co-operation, of consideration of our neighbor, as the foundation of all
ultimate success, is bo broad and so general that throughout the world we are talking about
peace and peace treaties. Suggestions have been submitted based upon standards as broad
as the highest and most ideal that have ever been accepted, for the settlement of controversies
between individual men. I care not whether this or that suggestion be precisely worded. That
is not the question. What we are interested in is the trend which these suggestions show and
in tbe fact that no one bxiay denies that peace is an end to be desired. {"Hear, hear!" and
apptave.)
In my judgment, even more important than agreements arrived at as a result of diplo-
matic negotiations, far more important than these will be the results of just such Congresses
as you bere now hold. You represent legitimate self-interest. The questions ttMlay through-
out the world are largdy industrial. Controversies that arise will originate from that inter-
eat, and if you succeed in establishing rules of the game that will settle, determine and guide
your negotiations and your dealings, the main cause for friction and controversy in the future
has been removed. (Applause.)
Granmerce is stilt the pioneer of civiliiation. (Applause.) Diplomacy may still open the
door; dipktmacy may still create an opportunity. It may still secure large influence hoe and
Digitized byGoOgIC
134 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
there; but is the final analyeis youi activitiea, your undetstandings among each other, will
Bmootb the path Tor the diplomat.
Time was when rulers declared war for one purpose or another; the time has come when
there is not an intelligent ruler in the world who does not want peace. The change ia complete.
If there be war or peace in the future it will be because the people declare it or maintaio it;
and, inasmuch as the responsibility rests with the people, the work of congreases of this kind
is made the more important, because intelligent self-interest is the foundation of real peace,
and all selfish interest is intelligent if it recogtuies that the other man b entitled to the enjoy-
ment of the same privilege. (AppUuiae.)
What we want to establish ia such a relation, so intimate commercially, and ultimately
socially, that no country a party to your Congress will permit controTersy, because it cannot
aSord to have it.
Gentlemen of the Congress, if a meeting of this kind were held in our country, if men
representing interests in some measure competitive — as, of coune, the relations of all coun-
tries with each other are competitive, — were to meet at the present time, there might be some
fear expressed lest the real purpose did not appear upon the surface. There will be a disposi-
tion to read into the lines of your discussions a purpose that might have some effect upon com-
petitive conditions. Be that as it may, and I have no doubt you have similar problems in
some of your countries, — and if you haven't them now I suggest that you may have them later,
because we have met some questions by anticipation that you will have to meet as the result
of experience, — ultimately we will have to realiie that you are not subject to the questions
and the doubts that might obtain in our countty, because the delegates of these countries
may be trusted to take care of their interests and are here to promote the general cause of
equity and justice under which all may thrive and prosper alike.
That being the plan, you may not be called altruists, as for instance a congresB of artists
or even scientists might be; but no one can doubt that the purpose which you have in mind is
to promote a program of general advantage, integrity of standards, quick and keen justice,
peace among the nations, and ultimately the advantage of eveiy citizen and every part ot
the community that may participate, however remotely, in your transactions.
Gentlemen, in closing I want merely to say that any man in public life to-dt^ must ooit-
template with peculiar gratification any congress whicH may be called to consider queatiims
aa grave as those which you have up for discussion, and which at the same time cannot be
charged with selfishness but must have it conceded that its purpose is the general well-being
and welfare not only of those whom you directly represent but of those whom the Congress
as such represents throughout the world. (jlppiauM.)
Chairman Smith: Gentlemen, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, from the stand-
point of industrial development, is the fourth greatest Commonwealth in our Union of forty-
eight states. Her present chief magistrate is a great captain of industry. From the outset
he has given us his most solicitous interest and effective co-operation, to the end that this
Congress be the success it should be. It now becomes my pleasure to introduce His Excellency
Governor Euoens N. Foss, of Massachusetts. {AppJause.)
ADDRESS OF WELCOME ON BEHALF OF THE COMHONWEALTB OF
MASSACHUSETTS
Hon. Eugene M. Foaa, Governor of MatmchuseOs
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen:
It is with great pleasure that I extend, on behalf of the Commonwealth, its greetinca.
The Commonwealth is indeed greatly honored that you should have chosen this city asd this
Btat« for this your first meeting on American soil. It is significant that you are coming to ua
at this time, when a new era of commercial life is opening up. In the eariy years of thia n-
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 135
public the diiqwr ahtpa of the porte of MasaachusetU circled the world, but of later yeEtrs we
bsve been engaged, as SecreUuy Nagel haa told you, in the development of our iiit«rnal af-
fain. It was the oapital of Massachusetts and New England which so largely contributed to
the development of the western section of the country. It woe New England coital which
built the great lines of railroads acroea the country and developed Uie great interior Btat«B of
the West.
But to-day we are turning our attention to the development of the waterways, of the
internal waterways of the country, and are looking abroad for new markets. Here in Maaei^
chusetts you will find the home of the cotton industry, you will also find the home of the boot
and ahoe industry, which we like to term the great American industry, for with a small d^ree
td protection to this industiy we have been able to command the markets at home and the
maricets of the world, until the American shoe is now found in every part of the world.
You will find here in Massachusetts not only the financial and industrial organiiationa
which have ctmtributed so much to build up the country, but you will also find those organi-
■ations which are conserving the natural resources of the country, like our forests and water-
power, and which are woridug along the line of the further development of theee resources
which is going tm.
We wish for Uie delegates a pleasing and profitable stay here. We know that your min-
gling among us will bring us much of good, and that thereaultewillbebeneficial toall;andwe
extend to you the warmest greetings of Massachusetts. (Applause.)
Chairman Smith: Gentlemen, when you received your appointments as deU^ates to
the city of Boeton, I apprehend that you looked for the statistical and numerical strength
of Boston, and you read that Boeton was a city of 670,000 people, with an industrial output
of S225,O0O,D0O.
Boston stands alone as to its unfortunate uniqueness of physical position. Our municipal
area has but 38 square milee. Therefore, owing to congestion within those limits we have
municipally but 670,000 people.
Within a stone's throw of where you now ait, and less than one thousand yards from where
you now sit are two separate municipalities of over 100,000 people surging with industrial
activity, and on the immediate outskirts of Boeton, in co-terminous teiritoiy, immediately
adjoining, and whose interests are interdependent, within twelve miles, a population of a
tnillHai and a half people with an industrial ouput of $560,000,000.
The Mayor of Boston, in turn, has shown his most intimate interest in the success of
this great Congress. His effective co-operation has been evident on every hand, and I am sure
some of you at least will be renewing on old ocquiuntance, because he was one of the Boston
party of tourists to visit Europe laet summer.
It now ^becomes my pleasure to introduce His Honor the Mayor of Boston, John F.
Ftfeqxkau). {Applaute.)
ADDRESS OF WELCOME ON BEHALF OF TEE CrTT OF BOSTOH
Hon. John F. Fitzgerald, Mayor t4 (As C^ of Button
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Ilfth Interaational Congress:
I do not think that any one of ua who journeyed across the water last summer ever thought
that this gathering which I have the htntor to address this morning, and to welcome formally
to this great city of ours, would be as large in numbere and aa distinguished in representation
OS it is, and we all, in Boston, owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Filene, and to Mr. Fahq', who,
two years ago at a similar Congress held in London, invited this gathering to Boeton, and were
the cause of such a distinction coming to this great city. (ApplouMt.)
Mr. Smith has spoken about the industrial life of this community, its population, its vast
wealth, the interrelationship of the suburban communities, with Boston; but there is another
Digitized byGoOgIC
136 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Activitf going on here to-dfty that I want to any just a word about Man I proceed to 017
formal addreaa, beeauae it is perhaps a pham <rf our American ciriliBation that some of jrou
will never dmwhere have the opportunity to see.
Id this Commonwealth of ours, over which our distinguished Governor who has just
addressed you preeides, there is a political contest going on all over the state. Right here,
within a short distance from this hotel, electioneering is going on; and you, gentlemen, irtio
c(»ne from tboee parta of the world where property qualifications count, where the votca erf
men with vast property eoimt ten to one hundred times as much ss the vote of the man with-
out a dollar, will be able to witness a practical exhibition of American democracy, because
you can see, this morning or at any time until 4 o'clock this afternoon, the laborer waUdng
side by side with the millionaire many times over, in the same booth, and the vote of one is
as mighty and as potent as the vote of the other. And there is no better exhibition of Amw-
ica'e doctrine, there is not a better example of Amerioao democracy, than can be found rig^t
within the precincts of this hotel; and I hope some of you will take advantage of the occasion
and go out and see how the voting is done. (Applaute.)
When a few years ago the American republics first realised that they had interests m
common, a new word came into use, invented to express a certain unity among the peopke
of the two continents. To Pan-Slavic and Pan-Germanic, with which you are familiar,
there was added the term Pan-American. It awakened visions of inter-continental railroads
and the enrichment of civilisation through the opening of unexhausted tropical lands.
Today we meet under the inspiration of a still larger concept. Envoys from forty nations,
men of diveise languages, laws, customs and religions, are assembled in a common cause. From
the unity of a single race or of a hemisphere our imaginatioDs have pn^reased tiU thfCT encircle
the globe itself. We might call the movement Pan-terrestrial or Pan-human. Whatever its
name, we greet you, gentlemen, as its champions and exponents, — rational visionsriee, in-
nocent schemers, peacefully plotting the good of all mankind.
The theme of your deliberations is commerce. Was there a time when this word had
derogatory or even sinister implications? Periiaps in some feudal period, before men had
learned to respect the dignity of every-day, useful things. Happily we breathe to-day the at-
mosphere of the twentieth century, in which the builder, the creator of wealth, is honored
' above the destroyer or the dreamer. You who sit here in council, merchants, bankers, manu-
facturers, engineers, operators of railroads, are the providers of the human family. Your
ancestry reaches back to the primitive ages. Beneath war and change, turmoil and migra-
tion, your patient industry has nourished and clad the race. The statesman and the soldier
may daisle by their victoriea, but your conquests are less bloody and your influence more
pervasive. The artist and the thinker may stand higher, but they do not come first. Read-
ing history, we note that its luminous pages, those that treat of Athens, Rome, Venice, Flor-
ence, London, Spain and Holland, in their prime, record the expansion of trade and tJie inflow
of foreign wealth co-exiBt«nt with the bursting of whole generations into art and song. Far
from being (q>posed, commerce and culture are sister wings of the human spirit. U eitha
droops, the balance is lost and our flight becomes crippled and erratic.
One function of commerce is to facihtate intercourse and thus to mediate between the
famihes of men. Your vessels have grooved the very waters of the sea with lanes of approved
safety for travel. Your engines ride upon rails laid through moimtain and jungle and oyer
the inhospitable desert. Upon these highways the nations journey back and forth and meet
for the exchange of goods. Thanks to this freedom of movement there is no longer any her-
mit nation, but a univeisal interpenetration of knowledge and ideals. Governments adopt
common aims and approximate a common type. Universities exchange pntteeon. Great
actors and musical virtuosi are citisens of the world. The prophets of literature are honored
in other countries as well as their own. A thousand influencee knit together the peoptea once
estranged by isolation and ignorance.
This better understanding is but a preface to great aeoompliahments which await ua in
the near future. There are problems which cannot be solved exoept by international agr«e-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 137
ment, such u universal peace, and until that oomea to pass, a civilised code of warfare; the
reduction of the cost of living; the prevention of plaguee; the deetructicHi of insect and ai^nud
peste; the adoption of a uniform calendar; a superior and more economical poetal ^atem;
rules for safety at sea; llie extradition of criminals; standard weights, monetary ayatona and
commercial forms; the aneat and control of panics; and laws for the protection of patents
and copyrii^ta. Some of these are included in the program of your Congress. We look for>
ward to authoritatiTe discuaakms of tbeee subjects and to conclusions which must carry
weight with those in authority. For tlds reason the presence of so many representatives of
governments is a most favorable augury as well as a signal honor. (Applmite.)
In America, gentlemen, you will find a nation well disposed toward the international
movement, because we arc, ourselveB, a ooamopoUtan people. Every one of the sixteen lan-
guages in which your program is printed is spoken in this city, and there are other parts of
the country far more polyglot than Boston. The extent of our territory and its diversities of
elimaite and contour give us a continental breadth of view and forbid all provincial narrow-
ness. It is hardly too much to say that as you continue your travels each of you will find
something familiar, as well as many features that are new and strange, in the composite fabric
of our national life.
But while other and more populous cities await your coming, it is our privilege to wel-
come you first and to receive you as our particular guests. We believe that Boston m^ pos-
sess some special attraction for men whose interests are commercial. Our settlement in the
eariy seventeenth century is one of the romances of the sea, and all our histoiy is salted with
an ocean flavor. After the Revolution a trade with India and China developed here, and it
was no uncommon exploit for adventurous captains in vessels of small tonnage to circumnavi-
gate the globe by way of Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope. The whaling industry,
now diminished, bad its headquartera in nearby ports. Our fishing fleet, still the foremost in
America, if not the world, ia about to occupy a new pier with buildings specially designed for
tliis bufdnesa. Our ooastwiae commerce surpasses even that of Hamburg. Our foreign sail-
ings are frequent and i^ular. Flotillas of pleasure craft are anchored in every bay and war-
ships are bunt in an inlet of our harbor. Id short, we New Englanders are still laigely a
sea-going people and it was no accident that the discovery of the North Pole was made by a
native of Maine. (Applttuse.)
To saturate our youth wilJi tlus atmosphere, a special school, the High School of Com-
merce, has been established, which trains boys for the commercial life. More tiian a tlxni-
sand pupils attend this institution, and by the generosity of some of our business men ssveial
of them are sent each year to study the products and business customs of otlier countries. I
tnist that some of you may be able to visit this school.
Our parks, water basins and boulevards are also at your aervioe. These, with the ool-
leges and public buildings, the life akmg the water front, the business and manufacturing
activities <rf the city and our subuibau homes, may distract you pleasantly in the intervals
of your more serious occupation. The Chamber of Commerce has already laid all its Ksourcas
at your disposal for your personal oomfort and entertainment. The oitiEens in goteral will
follow your proceedings with a friendly and enlightened interest. By the ci^ itself nothing
will be left undone that may testify to our sentiments of cordiality and esteem. It is one of
the distinctions of my life, as Chief Ma^strate of Boston, to inaugurate this convention, the
fifth of its kind and the first to be beld-in the westenk hemisphere. May its deliberations be
fruitful and hannonious and your personal experioices such as to repay you for the fatigoea
of the kmg journeys you have made. If the results correspond to the high purpose and bril-
liant intelligence of this gathering, the f^th Congress will surpass all its predeoeeeors and
wiQ lay the foundations for achievements still mote massive and substantial in the years to
come. (AppJouM.)
Chairman Smith; As the business men of the United States read the commercial history
of other nations they realiae that long years ago you recognised the necessity for commercial
Digitized byGoOgIC
138 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
organuatioDB first im your sevemi cities, and again amalgamated into one national association
that it might occupy at least a quaei-official relation to your governments who make the lam
of commerce. We confesB in America — or rather the United States — that wo were eelf-
centered, bo fierce was the conflict to develop this great country of ours. But twenty-^ve
years ago, in tbese various and many cities of ours, there came to be Organized boards of trade,
commercial associations and great chambers of commerce. And only as recently as this laat
April there was a new National Chamber of Commerce organiied which has even in this short
period gained an individual membetship of over 100,000. And it becomes my pleasure to
introduce the President of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Mr. Sasbt A.
Wheeler of Chicago. {Apptaute.)
ADDRESS OF WIXCOMB OH BBHAIf OF THE CHAMBER OF COHHERCE OF
THE DNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Mr. Htny A. Wheeler, Prttident of the Chamber of ComrMfct <4 She United State*
Gentlemen of the International Congress:
It is peculiarly gratifying that I should be able to represent, in this word of welcome to
this Congress, by some authority, that of a national otgamiation, the welci»ne which the ocm-
mercial interests of this country extend to you. As Uie presiding officer has said, a year ago
this would have been impossible, but, followii^ the example which you have set for us in yoor
countries, we have at last in this country endeavored to found a Qiamber that shall be eoat-
parable to your own in the force that it shall exert for the benefit of this countiy's ccHnmercial
interests. We are new and we have much to leam, and we eq>ect to learn at your hands;
and for that reason, if for no other, this Congress is doubly velcome to the commercial inter-
ests of this cotmtry. Their welcome to you is doubly cordial because of the benefits which
we e:q>ect to receive as the result of your deliberations.
Now, in the point of welcome, that welcome which you shall receive in this most boeiH*
table city of Boston is but an earnest of the cordial hoepitaUty and the warm welecane that
will be eitwkded to you as you travel westward for a thousand miles and then retraoe your
steps to the seaboard. And 1 call you to note that when you have reached your farthest
western point, my own beloved oi^ of Chicago, there will still lie beytmd an uea more than
two thousand miles in extent, dipping into the Pacific, and in that area there exist to^y by
the hundreds chamben of commerce and boards of trade, men in business with hearts as
warm, with hospitality as cordial as the best that you will meet in that part of our countiy
which you will traverse, men who are interested in the results of this Congress, who deeply
think of the things that you are going to do; who are disappointed because they will have no
opportunity because of your lack of time to greet you with a warm hand and with hearty,
cordial hospitaUty such as they are accustomed to give to those who visit them. (Applaut.)
Those who are the absent ones and those '^om you will not see — from them I bring cordial
greetings and a hearty welcome to this our country.
The business interests of the United States are deeply sensible of the importance of this
great gathering. It signifies to us a recognition of a world interdependence; an acknowledg-
ment that the happiness, the welfare and the prosperity of all the people are so interiaced
that harm permitted to be done to the least of the nations must necessarily find its adverse
eflect upon the greatest. Commerce has laid upon its heart and its conscience, by those who
are willing to attribute wrong to it, many atrocious crimes. Yet, save only for the influence
of the great worid-religions, commerce is the greatest single force in the world's civilisatitKL
(Applmue.) And, further, gentlemen, save only for the same influence of which I have
spoken, commerce will prove the greatest angle force in the world's regeneration. A con-
gress of this kind means unity of action. Commerce desires unity, because it is self-centered,
as Secretary Nagel has said, and selfish. But that selfishness which abscdutely resents intet-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 139
ference with its progreas — that selfishness which demands that obstacles shall be cleared
away from the path of commerce — that selfishness which means progress to the world and
has meant so much in the jeais that are passed, will in my judgment have a greater influence
in the mtroduction of those tiiii^ which we are looking for — particularly I am referring to
intematioaal arbitration of individual and national disputes (applaute) — than will obser-
vance of the Golden Rule or than will the introduction into the minds of the world's people
the sentiment or the dedre that universal peace shaU result. Commerce will do more in the
last analysis to create and mBintAJTi world peace than all other forces or influences which may
be brought to bear upon that subject. ("Hear, heart" and applause.) Conunerce, because it
is selfish, will again exercise its power and its influence in creating thoae conditions surround-
ing the industrial peoples of this worid that will take them out of a voluntaiy servitude and will
place them in such position that they are benefitted with all the people with the good things
that come to ua in life; that their interests shall be the interests of commerce, that their weU-
being ahoU be close to our hearts and that their uplift shall be our study and our pleasure to
prtxnote, because by the promotion of their well-being we are raising the standard of our
commercial life, and are raising the standard of the products which our countries represent.
If in no other way, gentlemen, than by the expreesion of the interdependence of the peoples
of the world — if in no other way than by the influence which such congresses as this and
such as the commercial int«reste shall exercise everywhere shall have upon the establishment
(rf universal peace — if in no other way than that of raising the standard of Uving to those
irito work for a Uving and to make their environments and their conditions better — if in
those three things these great CongresBes shall succeed in laying broad and fine foundations,
&ea these other questions that we are settling will largely be solved by the influences that are
fundament^ to the greater problems. And we will find as a result cS our deliberations that
those questions of international justice and equity are, after all, questions that will solve
themselves when right principles have been laid at the foundation of the business worid
(Applauae.)
Again, in the name of the commercial interests of this country, I give you a welcome.
We are expecting much as a result of this meeting that ne may leam from you, and if in some
small measure we m^r have something to contribute out of our newer experiences to the wis-
dom of your conclusions in the deliberations you shall undertake, we shall be deeply gratified.
But go where you will over this country of ours, you will find in our chambers of commerce
that if given the opportunity they will teach you what it is to be hospitable, they will show
yoQ that measure of hospitality which we love to extend to those who visit us, and extend
not on^ because of the cordial relations which we hope to establish, but because we desire
you to know us better — to know what we have and what we are, what we are trying to do
and what our aspirations may be. (Applause.)
Chairman Smith: Two years ago last May a director of the newly-formed Boston Cham-
ber of Ccmuneroe, and the one man who was the most instrumental in the inception of the
moTOnent which led to the oiystalliKation of the business bodies of Boston, had the large vision
that if it were poemble to hold this great Congress in Boston in 1912 it might not be a foriom
]iope. The board of directors were delighted to pass unanimously their authority that this
gentleman with others be authorized to extend the invitation in London, and with others he
journeyed thither, and your presence here marks the success of his and their efforta. I take
pleasure in introducing him, as he is, first, a splendid citlien of Boston, one of Boston's most
successful men, the vice-president of this Congress, who will in turn show us the special cour-
ted, by virtue of his office, of introducing your and our magnificent permanent president.
And the gentleman I refer to — and to introduce him is my great pleasure — b Mr. Eoward
A. FiLKNB of Boston. (Applause.)
Digitized byGoOgIC
140 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
ADDRESS OF WELCOUB
Mr. Bdwaid A. FQene, VUe-President of the FifIA Inlenuiiional Confr«»»
Delegates and Frieods:
It is my double privilege, having been honored by you in being made vice^>reeident of
this gatbering, and representing the Boston Chamber of Commerce, to add s brief word
of heartfelt welcome and then to present to you the dietitiguished president of the Permanent
Committee of the International Congresa, who is to preside at these meetings.
To welcome so many capttuns of industry and generals of finance from all part« of the
world is a great pleasure and a great honor. You are the men who win the decisive victories
of peaceful times. He intense interest which your coming has aroused in the United States is
evidence that the fame of 3^ur victories has spread. One proof that this int«re8t is not panive
is the fact that over ninety North and South American business organiiations have joined the
Int«mational Congress during the past year, in order to profit by the discussions and to aid
in this welcome.
To-day you concentrate here more than three hundred commercial sseociations. You not
only bring together the official representation of these infiuentiol organiiations, but ceiit«i
on tliis hemisphere for the first time your combined knowledge. Here is a great opportunity.
For our guests, as well as we Americans, know that when ton men sit down to reason together
in a friendly way, a new fund of knowledge is created. Every one may draw on this fund and
add to bis own store of knowledge that of the other nine m^i. The power of each may be
increased not once but tenfold, so th&t the result may be, not ten times one, but ten times ten
or a hundred. And if we coll the individual knowledge of a man a umt of efficiency, then the
consultation may result in one hundred imits of efficiency.
And so here, t«o, each of ua miQr command the individual knowledge of his seven hundred
fellow del^ates. Hie circle of ten has increased seventy-fold among the wisest buaness men of
the world. Aitd the corresponding possible result becomes neaily half a million units of effi-
ciency. {AppUtute.) That mt^ seem an American exaggeration (Utvghier); but, gentlemen,
underneath it lies the truth, and it is that truth that is the surest guaranty that these con-
gresses will grow and grow and grow, because there will be created tliis new and greater fund
of efficiency which shall bring nations more and more into c(M>peration one with the other,
enriching the world and mulring ua all wiser and better.
I have called you the wisest of business men. This is not flattery, it is the truth. For if
a successful business man has grasp and vision and imagination enoug^i to give him iotema-
tional sympathy which is capable of af>preciating the benefits to the world bom of international
co-operation, he is surely wise. Then if tliis understanding is of strength sufficient to cony
him over mountains and seas to this great meeting, he is, I say, one of the worid's wisest
businees men. (Applause.)
So, also, will the friendships which we form in Bost<m be the wisest of friendships. Hiey
are to include all of us, I hope, for no member of this Ccmgrees needs a formal introductka
to a feUow delegate. (ApjimtM.) These friendships, tying us t^igether years after we have
returned to our scattered homes, mean much to the world. This Congress adjourns Thursday,
but the friend^ps to which we look forward will keep its influence constantly alive, cco-
stantly helpful. The worid, as well as all of us, will benefit from such international frieiKlshipa.
When we were last together in London I had the great honor, on behalf of the Boeton
Chamber, to invito you to visit the United States, ma-icing at that time some promises which
I hope we will fulfil. I told you that in coming to the United States, you were coming home.
I told you that the United States, after all, was not made by the Indians. (Laughter.) I am
talking of our own Indians now, not of the East Indians, some of whom I see here. (Laughitr.)
But America was made, I said, by the Englishmen and the Frenchmen and the Germans and the
Italians — I will stop here, for it would take up too much of your time to oiumerate all of the
nations which have made up the America and the United States that you are now visiting.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 141
And so you come this moniiiig to your own, not to a atrange country, but to youi home
land. You are among your brothers who sailed westward to build a brotherhood nation.
Here you will instantly recopiiie the colors of your home lands blending to make up the whole
ve c(dl America. The forty or more nationalities represented by you are the real creators of
the United Stat«8 and its people, who are honored by your coming. (Apptause.) The State,
the City, and the Chamber, recognicing this debt of our nation to you, rejoice that this op-
portunity of being your hosts will enable them to aasigt you in a still greater service. For
they see in the Congress a long step in the advance towards the day when we business men of
all nations shall be able to i^ply internationally what we have individually learned from
our own business, — namely, tbat all business Euid all relations, to be permanent and really
advantageous, muat be mutually helpful. (Applaute.)
And it is on this baaia that I predict our advance. We ehall pass onward throu^ the
questions to which this Congress must now necessarily limit itself. From these, in the ful-
ness of time, we shall pass upward to those far grestor, far moro important questions which
are not only fundamental to the best commercial relations between nations, but are as well
the basis of peace on earth and good will to men. (Applaitse.) Not that I minimis the things
we are now doii^. Though after all they are only the foundation stones — still they are the
important foundation stones which must be strong and well laid tf tJie great superstructure
is ever to be completed. It is with these thoughts in mind that we bid you thrice welcome.
My privilege has still another great pleasure in store — to present to you MtMisieur
Loms Caj<on-Leorand of Belgium, citiien of the worid, President of the International Con-
gress, presiding officer of this meeting. Monsieur Canon-L^rand personifies the initiative
of our always far-sighted Belgian brothers, who brought the first Congress into being at li^
bI905.
St«adily thereafter, he piloted the work at Milan, at Prague, at London, and now to-day
be comes to guide us here with the same maatoi-hand which has for years kept this great In-
ternational Congress on ite safe and prosperous course and off the dangerous rocks of inter-
national differences.
Head of the federated commercial and industrial aseociationa of Belgium, Monsieur
Canon-L^raod has, dnee the International Congress came into enatence, given freely of his
great tact and his knowledge of international affairs, that we might fulfil our opportunity.
Many international government conferences and many international economic movemoits of
great importance owe their life to theae congresses. All received their share of impetus ttotu
Monsieur Canon-Legrand. And, likewise, here we are to be directed by his knowledge —
and directed, I feel sure, to great ends, to success which our home lands will look upon with
iuBtifiable pride. GenUemen, 1 have the great pleasure of presenting to you our presiding
officer and President, Monsieur LouiB Canon-Lkobanv. (Apptaute.)
MONSIEUR LOXnS CAKON-UGRAim
Pmidenl of At PtrmatmU CommiUee of the Inlematumal Congrui
Monaieur le Pr&ident, Measieurs:
C'est le cceur plein d'une profonde Amotion que je me l^e pour r^pondre sux bienvenuea
trop cordiales qui nous ont 6t6 adress£es par les orateurs qui m'ont pr6c£d€ & oette tribune.
6i je me sers de ma langue, le fran9ais, c'est qu'il est bon d'employer celle que Ton connatt
le mieux et avec laquelle on exprime le mieux les sentiments de son catur. Sinon, messieurs,
ie devrais, au nom des d£l^£s de tous les pays, ici presents, vous parler toutee les langues
dela terrc.
Je Buis done particuliii«ment heureux de pouvoir, au nom de tous lea dSl^gute itrangers
venua i Boston, adresser noe remercionents chaleureux & I'ancien pr&ident de la Chambte de
C<H[unerce de Boston, M. Smith, au secretaire du IHpartement de Commerce et du Travail,
M.ChariesNagel,augouvemeurde rCtatdu Massachusetts, M.Foae.au maire de laville de
Digitized byGoOgIC
142 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
BostoD, M. Fitzgerald, ainai qu'au prSeident de la Chambre de Commerce des £tatB-Utiis k
Washington; et enfia, je doia dee remerciemente tout apfciaux &moii ami — je I'appelle ainm"
— M. Fileae, que j'tu eu IlioiuieuT de conualtre il y s deux aus it Londrea, et avec qui depuis
lora dea relations Be Bont Buivies de la fa5on la plua oordiale.
Messieurs, laissei-moi yous dire quelques mots en tran^aia — car je me propose de vous
adreaaer la parole en anglais aussi — pour reconnattre la gracieuse hospitality de nos hAtes;
laisaee-moi vous dire, k moi, qui ai vu grandir I'ceuyre dea Congrte dea Chambrea de Commerce,
Gombien il est r^confortant, combien il est puissant pour raveuir de voir le trie grand non^re
de d£l^u£s presents dans cette salle. Noua avona commenc^e, on voua I'a rappel^ tout i
llieure, en Belgique, oil noua n'^tiona que quelques centainea, troia cents, troia cent cinquante;
I'oeuvre s'eat accrue, s'eat d4velopp6e; elle est aI16e en Italie, en BobSme, A Londrea — nous
fitiona aix cents k Londres, — et aujoutd'bui, messieurB, matgt^ lea difficult^ du voyage, —
cor je ne vous cache paa que pour noua, europfens, la traverse de I'Atiantique n'est pas une
petite affaire — nous sommea venus du vieux monde plua de sept cents pour rdpondre k la
oordiale invitation de nos amia dea fitata-Unia de I'AmSrique du Nord.
Voil& lea d^veloppementa de I'tBuvre. Et la raison en eat bien aimple ; c'est que les hommes
de bonne volont^, que voua Stes tous, se trouvent et ae trouveront toujoura de plus en plus nom-
breux; o'est que, dans lea aSairea de commerce, d'industrie, d'affaires, la mGme mentality nous
anime toue. Noub aVons tous la mbne conscience des int^r^ts g^n^aux, et en t^e g6n£rale,
dte que noua diacutons nos questions, immMiatement nous sommea toua d'accoid. VoilA la
raison dea reunions pareillea & celle-ci.
J'ai H4 trte heureux tout & llieure d'entendre I'honorable prudent de la Chambre de
Commerce des £tata-Unis nous dire quelle 4tait I'influence du commerce sur les relations in-
t«mationalea. En deux mots, on peut dire: Le commerce, c'est la paix — Commerev u peatx.
(A pplauditMmenit.)
Je ne veux pas abuser plua longtemps de tos moments, car noua avons A commencer
notre aeaaion et k travailler. Je vaia done me pwrmettie, par courtoiaie pour nos faAtes, de
voua dire en anglais de quelle faQon je comprenda notre ceuvre.
(TnttMldtum)
Mr. President, Gentlemen:
With a heart full of profound emotion, I riae to respond to the cordial welcome
which has been given ua by the apeaketa who have preceded me on thia platform. If I uae
the French language, it is becauae it is good for one to employ that which he knows best
and in which he can express best the sentiments of his heart. Otherwise, gentlemen, I
should have, in the name of all the delegates present, to address you in all tbe languages
of Ute earth.
I am particularly happy to be able, on behalf of all the delegates that have crane
to Boeton, to addresa our heartfelt thanks to the fonner President of the Chamber of
Commerce of Boaton, Mr. Smith; to the Secretary of the Department of Commerce
and Labor, Mr. Chariea Nagel; to the Governor of Maasachusetta, Mr. Foes; to the
Mayor of the City of Boston, Mr. Fitsgerald, and to the Resident of the Chunber of
Commerce of the United 8tat«a at Waahington; and laatly I owe my moat particular
thanks to my friend — I call him thus — Mr. Filene, whom I had the honor to meet
two yean ago in London, and with whom I have had aince moat cordial relations.
Gentlemen, let me tell you briefly in French, as I propose to addieas you in English
alao, in order to acknowledge the gracioua hoapitality of our hosta; let me teU you, I, who
have seen the congresses of the Chambera of Commerce grow, how comforting, how full
of hope it is for the future, to see thia lai^ number of delegates present in this hall.
We began, as you have heard it said before, in Betpua, where we were only a few hun-
dred; the work has grown, haa developed; we went to Italy, to Bohemia, to London —
we were six hundred in London — and to-day, gentlemen, notwithstanding the difficul-
ties of the trip — for I will not conceal from you lliat for ua Europeans the croeaing of
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMEKCE 143
tlie Atlaotic ia not a smaU affair — we have come rrom the old world more than seven
hundred strong, to answer the coidial invitation of our triends of the United States of
North America.
Thua the work developed. And the reason b very simple; it ia because men of good
will, as you all are, will always be in the majority ; because in the affairs of commerce,
industry and business, the same thought animates us all. We are all conscious of the
general interest of the community, and as a general rule, when we discuss our questions,
we agree immediately. This is the reason for meetings similar to the present one.
I have been very happy to hear the Honorable President of the Chamber of Com-
merce of the United States tell us of the influence of commerce on international rela-
tions. In short, one may say that commerce means peace. iApplauae.)
I do not wish to encroach on your time, as we have to begin our session and get to
M. le PrSaident: Messieurs, nous commengons done noa travaux. Je vous dois quel-
ques explications sur la fafon dont nous comptons proc^der. Lee rapports ont &t6 envoys
en troiB langues diffSrentee, et chacun des rapporteurs viendra faire devant vous un bref r£sum6
de ces rapports. Nous prierons les rapporteurs de vouloir bien, aprte ce r§sum£, transcrire eux-
mftmes, pour I'ezactitude des renseignements i, donner i, la presse, lee r^sumte qu'ils auront faita.
Messieurs, avant de commencer I'ordre du jour, je dois vous donner conoaissance des
t^llgrammes que nous avoue re^us.
(Z*raTuIalton)
Gentlemen, we are about to begin out work. It is proper that I should give a few
explanations of our methods of proceeding. Reports have been sent to you in three dif-
ferent languages, and each of the Reporters will give you a brief summary of these
reports. We would ask the Reporters, after their brief statements, to kindly transcribe,
themselves, for the sake of giving exact accounts to the press, the summaries which
they will have made.
Now, gentlemen, before beginning on the order of the day, I wish to bring t« your
no^ce some of the telegrams which we have received:
Remerciements sinc^res pour aimable invitatbn; mialheureusement impossible en profiter,
vu Elections k la Douma. MeilleurB voeux pour travaux du Congt*s. Prosp&it* pour votre
Chambre. De Miller, Pr4*ident de Varsovie.
(TransIdfMm)
Sincere thanks for kind invitation; unfortunately impossible to take advantage of
it, on account of elections to the Douma. Best wishes for the work of the Congress, and
tor the prosperity of your Chamber. De Miller, PresideiU, Wartaw.
T^lfgramme de la Chambre de Commerce de Paris et les Chambres de Commerce 4tran-
gires 4tablies k Paris, expiimant leurs voeux r^uuis pour le succto le plus complet du Congrte.
(TraruIoUon)
Telegram from the Chamber of Commerce of Paris and the foreign Chambers of
Commerce established in Paris expresses their united wishes for the complete success
of the Congress.
As PresidBnt and on behalf of Ixindon Chamber Commerce and myself, I wish Congress
all success; trust that among other useful objects achieved, it may lead statesmen to take in
haod calendar reform and fixed Easter date; much regret, was prevented attending.
DESBOROtraH.
Compliments have also been received from the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
THE ESTABUSHMENT OF A FIXED DATE FOR EASTER, AIVD THE
REFORM OF THE CALENDAR
H. Louis Canon-LeETsnd, Pretident of the Congress
Messieura:
Pour les discuseioDfi, je prierais lee oreteurs qui Toudront pi^idre la parole de m faire
inacrire en donnant leur carte de visite au sect^taire, a£ii de aavoir exactement t'ordre e(
les Doms des orateuFB.
L'ordre du jour de la pr^sente stance comporte d'abord use communication que i'ai k
VOU8 faire au sujet de la fixation de la date de P&ques.
Voua aves tous re9U le petit rapport, la mise au point de la question que j'ai faite. Je la
resume en quelques mota: ce fut en 1907 que la variabiUt^ de la f£te de Pfiquea, qui peut st-
teindie trentC'^anq jours, fut discut^ par noua. Les inconv&iieDts r^daient dans la vie
commercials, dana le regime dee Scales et dans les transactions conunerciales. Si F&quee
tombe en mare, c'est une saison manqute pour certaines industries. Aprte le Congrte en
1908, la question fut portfe 4 l'ordre du jour. Elle 6tait trSa connue en Allemagne, mais pen
dans les autrea pays. C'eat au Congrte de Londres, en 1910, il y a deux ana, que celte ques-
tion fut traits i. fond, ainsi que cells de la fixity du calendrier. U est eaeentiel d'avoir, dans le
oalendrier, un nombre exact de semaines; il faut pour cela supprimer un jour sur les 365.
Dans toutes les industries, dans tous les commerces, la question de la paye, qui ae fait le 30
du mois ou le 15 du mois, peut 6tTe r^£e ainsi beaucoup plus r^gulidrement ; pour les banques,
pour les maisons de finance, il est essentiel que tous lea mois se terminent de I& mkne tatjaa,
et le Congrte de Londrea a done iaue I'avia qu'il aerait desirable d'arriver k I'^tablissement du
calendrier fixe international.
Voua saves, messieurs, comment nous proc^ons. Notre comit^ permanent se borne k
toettre dee vceux, et nous nous eSor^ons d'obtenir de I'une ou I'autre nation la convocaticxi
de ccmf^ncee diptomatiques qui ambient les legislatures des diff£rente pays k a'occuper de
cee questions.
Ce fut le caa pour la question du calendrier au sujet de laqueUe le gouvemement Suiaee a
prig I'initiative de conferences intemationalea. Noua n'avons done plus k discut«r c«tte
question, mais ce que nous t«nons k faIre, c'est de la vulgariser en Am£rique. II est d'autant
plus int^ressant de signaler la choee, que cette annte meme, en juin demier, il y a quelques
mois il peine, le Coogria des Chambree de Commerce de I'Empire Britannique a pasafi une
T^sdution unanime k ce sujet.
Voil& done, messieurs, le but de ma communication. Je I'ai r^sumd brifrrement. Tons
avei tous la traduction en angilais et en allemand, mais je suis prft k donner la parole, et
notamment, j'ai, comme orateur inscrit, M. F. FAiTBycu. Beoo. Je suia done pr6t & donner
la parole k ceux qui voudront, dans un but de vulgarisation plus grand en Am&ique, entre-
tenir I'assembUe de la question.
(Tnauiation)
Gentlemen:
During the discussion, I would ask the speakers who wish to be heard to regista
themselves by giving their visiting cards to the Secretaiy in order that we may know
exactly the order and names ot &e speakers.
liie order of the day of the present seseitm containa first a communication widA I
have to make to you on the subject of the establishment of a fixed date for Easter.
You have all received a Uttle report containing a brief outline of the question. I
wiU sum this up in a few words: In 1907 the variability of the aeaaon of Easter, whidi
can extend to thirty-five daya, was discussed by us. Conaiderable inconvenience is oe-
caaioned in commercial life, in the school sessions and in commercial transactions. If
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 145
East«r f&lls in March it is a ruined season in certain induBtriea. After the Congress
of 1908, the question was placed on the order of the day. It was already well known
in Germany, but Uttte in other countries. At the Congress of London, in 1910, two
Tears ago, this queatioa was discussed thorou^y, as well as that of the uniformity of
the calendax. It is essential to have in the c^endar an eicact number of weeks. It
therefore becomes necessary to suppress one day of the 365. In all industiies, in all
businese, the question of p&yment of wages, when made the 30th of the montii or the
15th, can be arranged far more conveniently; for banks and financial houses it is
important that all the months should end on the same day, and the London Congftaa
has therefore expresxd the opinion that it would be desirable to arrange for the est^lish-
ment of a fixed international calendar.
You know, gentlemen, how we proceed. It is the duty of our Pennanent Com-
mittee to pass votes, and we make efforts to obtain from one nation or another the
convocation of diplomatic conferences which shall lead the legislatures in the different
countries to take up these questions.
Such was the case with the question of the calendar in regard to which the Swiss
Government took the initiative to bring about international conferences. It is there-
fore no longer necessary for us to discuss this question, but what we have to do is to
popularise it in America. It is therefore the more interesting to note the fact that this
present year, in Jime last, that was only a tew months ago, the Congress of Chambers
of Commerce of the British Empire unanimously passed a resolution on this subject.
This, gentlemen, is the purpose of my report. I have summed it up briefly. You
all hftve the translation in English and in German, and I am ready to yield to another
speaker, having noted Mr. F. FAtmnTu. Beog. We are then reat^ to hear those
who wish to apeak to the meeting on this question with the purpose of a greater popu<
lar interest in the topic in America.
Mr. F. Faithfnll Begg, Chairman qf the Cmtncil of the London OwxnAer o/ Commwee
Mr. neaident and Gentlemen:
I desire, having been especially requested to do so, to say a very few words on the sub-
ject of the President's communication on behalf of the Londtm Chamber of Commerce, which
I have Uie honor to represent here on this occasion. (Appinuae.)
The London Chamber of Commerce, ever since it was instructed in the merits of this
controversy by your respected President some years ago, has been enthusiastically in favor
of the reforms which he so eloquently advocates.
There are two questions involved, two questions of veiy great importance. One is the
regulariiation of the date of Easter, and there is the question of the adoption of a new calen-
dar system. Now I shall not detain you more than a very few minutes, but I should like to
say a few words upon each of these subjects.
Possibly here in the United States you may not have appreciated the difficulties which
arise in connection with the variable date upon which Easter falls. Those difficulties are well
explained in the communication of the President, and I do not propose to enter into them at all.
What I wish to point out more particularly to those who have not perhaps profoundly
studied this subject, is that there is no reasOQ whatever why you should have a variable date
for Easter. It is an old arrangement, into the reasons for which I will not enter, but if we would
only be content to r^ulate Easter by the sun, instead of regulating the date by the mocm,
we should get to a point where we might have annually a fixed date for Easter.
That seems a very simple matter, but it is by no means so simple; and it is satisfactory
to know tiiat, looking at the difficulties from an international point of view, this Congress
has already been able to interest the various governments in Europe in the question, and I
tiiink we may fully hope that in a short time a satisfactory result will be brought about.
One p<mit I desire to mention in connection with both questions: I will state that my
Digitized byGoOgIC
146 INTERNATIONAL CONGHESS OP
own Chamber is in favor, but I niah to draw your special attention to a paragraph in ibe
Fresideat'a communication toward the close, where he mentions that the seventh Coagftm
of Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire, meeting last June, passed imanimouely &
favorable resolution.
I wish to point out to you that that represents the combined wisdom, if I may use the
word "wisdom," of the Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire, a new organitation
which has been brought into existence quite recently which met the other day in London and
which contained in its membership representative men from all parts of the British Empire.
Now, gentlemen, with your permiasiDn I should like to say one word about the calendar.
I am not goii^ to discuss the calendar, because again, the President has provided ua with fnll
information with regard to what it is proposed should be done in that connection, but I wish
to mention for a special reason a fact which I think is perhaps not well known to every one
in this room, and it is this: That there is here, on the American continent, proof that before
America was discovered by Columbus there existed on these shores a system for the most
accurate odjuatment of civil and solar time, and a system which was superior in its method
to that in use in Europe in the days of Columbus, and to the calendar year under which we
regulate our affairs to^lay, the calendar of the Pope Gr^ory.
You may see for yourselves, if you choose to visit the place, the calendar stcme of the
Aitecs of Mexico. It exists in the form of a sun-stone, twelve inches in diameter, sculptured
with great dexterity and fineness, and this stone is both a sun-dial and a calendar similar la
that which was used by the Egyptians and the Chaldeans in time long gone by. By Di«ans
of this stone the Mexican priests determined not only the time of day, but they detemuned
the solstices, and they kept account of years and of days. On the face of the stone there are
inscriptions including the division of the year into weeks and into days, and the extraordinary
thing is that that stone includes also the computation of t^nturies, with greater exactness,
as I have said, than that of the modem Gregorian calendar.
The error, and those of you who understand the error in the calendar will appreciate the
force of this point, b equivalent t« only one day in thousands of years. (AppIouM.)
This stone is supposed to have been made in the year U79 of our Lord; but the science
upon which it is based must have token enormous periods lo evolve, wherever that science
came from, whether it was European or native bom. How that stone came into existence
nobody has been able to determine; but there it is.
Now I have mentioned this extraordinary fact because in conversation with tlie Preti-
dent, who is a mast«rof this subject, I mentioned it to him. I do not suppose he will think I
am giving away hia confidence when he told me frankly that be had never heard of it. And
I suppose there must be gentlemen here present from Europe who are in the same positicn.
I am perfectly satisfied that every one here who comes from the United States knows all
about Uiis stone {laughter), has carefully examined it and has probably a theory of bow it
came into existence. My idea is that this stone should be brought into play in OMisectioD
with the proposal for the refoim of the calendar, and at all events that the system in exis-
tence, as I have said, in tiiis country before the discovery of the country by Columbus should
have a show in the negotiations which are going on in connection with the reform of the
calendar. (Applawe,)
M. le Prteident: Je remercie M. Begg de son int^ressante communication. H est
exact que c'est une contribution nouveUe. La question du calendrier a 6t6 ^tudi6e, nous
n'avons pas I'intention de la diacuter A nouveau, mais il est tr^ int^ressant de savoir qu'avant
mSme que Christophe Colomb eut d£couvert I'Am^que, il y avait d^i& une pierre hut laqudk
tm calendrier trte remarquable avait 6t6 trac6, par des Am^ricains qui vous pr€o6daient tous.
J'ai encore une demande de parole pour le calendrier, de M. Ernst Kbause.
(TTontlaium.)
I wish to thank Mr. B^k ^or his interesting communication. It is a fact that this
is a new contribution. The question of a calendar has been studied, and it is not om
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 147
intention to discuss it again, but it is vct; interesting to know that even before Chris-
topher Columbus discovered America there already exiated a stone upon which a verj
remarkable calendar was engraved bj Americans who preceded all of you.
I have a further request, that the platform be given, on the subject of the calendar,
to Mr. Ernbt Kbause.
Heir Ernst Kranse, Vice-Premdeni of the Lower A^ulrian AModation for Promotion qf Handi-
craft, Vienna
Meine verehrten Herren vom FOnften KongreBI
Wir haben eehr viel darUber gehort und geleaeo, wie die Vereinfachung des Kalenders
durcbgeftlhrt werden eoUte, und wie es mCglich ist, Ostem auf einen bestimmten Tag eu legen.
Die Mitglieder der Handelaltamtner, die icb zu vertreten die Ehre babe. Bind voUstindig
mit allem einverstanden, was in dieser Richtung beschlossen wird; aber, meine Herren, wir
eind praktische Eaufleute, und als praktieche Kaufleut« mUBBeo wir une sagen, es wird ikm^
erne lange Zeit dauem, bis sich alles das durchfOhreii l&Ct, was bier und in den fiUhereii Kon-
peasen beschlossen worden iet.
(TTan^alum)
Greatly esteemed Gentlemen of the Fifth Congress;
We have heard and read a good de^ concerning the simplification of the calendar
and Uie manner in which it will be possible to fix a definite date for Easter.
The members of the Chamber of Commerce, whom I have tbe honor of repreaenting,
are entirely conformable with everything that is going to be decided in that respect; but
considering, gentlemen, that we are practical merchants we necessarily must realiie as
such practical merchants that it will require a long time before everything can be adopted
that has been decided in former congresses and which may be decided upon now.
At this point the speaker was interrupted by the President and finished his remarks
as first speaker in the afternoon session.
Meeting adjourned at 12.25.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Aeconb IkMion
The members of the CongreaB leaawmbled &t 2.30 P.if.
Present Canon-Legmid
Noua i^sumoDS les traTaux de ce matin.
Je commence d'aboid par vous demonder de l&iaeer, autant que possible, la premie
rang^ de chaises Hbre. Cela nous pennettra de donner aux d£l^gu£s officials des gouver-
nemento itrangeis, qui sont une trentaine, la place & laquelle, nonnalement, Qs auraient eu
droit sur l'«atrade. Comme celle-ci est trap petite, il faut bien que nous leur donnitms satis-
faction sutt^nent et avoir pour eux lea ^gsrds auxquels ils ont droit.
La parole est oontinufe & M. Kraube.
(TVarMJofion)
We will resume our labois of this morning,
I will begin by asking you to kindly leave the first row of seats vacant, as far as
possible. This will permit us to extend to the official delegates of foreign governments
the right which, ordinarily, they would have to seats on the platform. As thepl&tform
is not large enough, we shall have to make other arrangements to accord them the pre-
cedence to which they are entitled.
Mr. KRAnsB has the floor.
Herr Ernst Eranse [amlinvtd)
Meine verehrten Herrenl
Entschuldigen Sie, daC ich jetit noch eimnal turQckkomme auf das Thuna, welches wir
heute Tormitt^ begonnen haben. Ich habe Ihnen bereits sum Ausdruck gdiracht, dai
alle mafigebenden Faktoren in Wien dsmit einverstanden mnd, dafi daa Osteifest auf
einen bestimmten Tag gelegt wird, und daB ein einheitlicher Kalender fOr die ganse Welt
eingefOhrt wird. Aber ich wollte auch lum Ausdruck bringen, daQ ea sehr unpraktisch wftre,
wenn wir darauf wartm woUten, bis die kirchlichen Autorit&ten und die staatlichen Autori-
t&ten sich bereit finden, sich fiber einen derartigen einheitlichen Kalender ni einigen. Bis
dahin, meine Herren, mOssen wir proktischen Kaufleute etwas anderee finden, um daa Ubd
weoigstens ein klein wenig m beeeitigen, und da mOchte ich den geehrt^t Henen ins Ge-
dfichtnis lurQckrufen, dafi wir in jedem Lande bis heute voUst&ndig ohne Kenntnis dessen
flind, welcbe Feiertage und Ruhetage in den anderen L&ndem Ublich sind, und wenn wir aucb
das eine oder anders Mai es in unseren Zeitungen lesen, so vei^iessen wir sehr schn^ darOber,
und kein Kaufmann konn uch die Tage aller der Lftnder, mit welchen er korreapondiert, im
Gedftcbtnis behalten, um seine Dispositiimen entsprechend su treffen. Idi will Ihnen gani
kun ein Beispiel geben:
Ich hatte meine Dispositionen so getroffen, daB ich am 2. September in New York ein-
treffe, vom Moi^n dea 2. Septembers bis sum Abend eine beatimmte Albeit verrichte und
dann nach Chicago weiterfahre. Ich hatte keine Abnung davon, daJi am 2. September der
Labor Day let, an welchem ea unmOglicb ist, ii^endwelche Geschfif te in Amerika lu veirichten.
Nun glaube ich, daC dem ein klein wenig abgeholfen werden kOimte, wenn wir, die wir im
intematJonalen Verkehr stehen, auf unseren Briefbogen, auf unseren Mitteilungen an unaere
Geschftftsfreunde im intemationalen Verkehr diejenigen Tage annonderen, an welchen wir
nicht arbeiten. DadurcUkOnnenwichtigelnteressengeschont werden, Viele Gesch&fte bfingn
davon ab, daS man inn^halb einer gam bestimmten Zeit eine Antwort erteilt. Und wenn
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 149
man dieae Antwort nicbt bekommen kann, weil der andere Partner einen Feiertag hat und
keine Telegramme bokommt, 80 kOnnen dadurch grOBSe Interesaen geschftdigt werden.
AuBetdem, meine Henen, ^ube ieh, daS ea mj^ch ut, auch die groOen Tagesiutungen
aller Under dahiii lu mt«reeaiei'en, dafl auch dieee jedes Mai, wenn in eiuem anderen Lande
Feiertag ist, dieee Mitteilung dem Publikum lukonunen lassen. Wenn auf dieee Weiee, eowohl
doTch uneere eigene Korrespondeni ala auch durch die TageBieitungen verOffentlicht wird,
wann Peiertage mnd, ao wird bia lur Peatlegung dea intemationalen Kalendera ein groCet
Teil deajenigen Schadena vertnieden werden, der una ao oft trifft und der una dahin gefflhrt
hat, daB wir etnen intemationalen Kalender anatreben. Aus dieeem Grunde bitte ich den
Ftlnften Kongrefi der vereinigten Handelakammeni meinen Vorschlag eu unteratQtzen, dall
alie Handelakammem aufgefordert werden, ihie Mit^eder dahin ni infonnieren, daS sie auf
ihrm Briefk&p[en die Feiertage dea eigenen Landee aogeben und ferner dahin wirken, daQ die
Zeitnngen dee eigenen Landes die Feiertage der fremden LAnder anooncieren.
(XraulaHon)
Please pardon me, if I refer again to the aubject which we b^an this morning.
I have already called to your attention that all important factors in Vienna have
agreed that the Eaater holidays should be set for a definite date and tliat a uniform
calendar should be introduced for the entire world, but I also wish to say that it would be
very impractical if we should wait until the eccleaiastieal authoritiea and the atato
authorities are ready to unite on auch a uniform calendar. Until then, gentlemen, we
practical buBineea men muat find another aolution to reduce the annoyance in a measure.
I think that aa a rule we citiiMia of the varioua countries are at the present time more or
leas ignorant of the feasts and holidays in other countries. Even tbough we may read
about them from time to time in our papera we ore liable to foiget very aoon thereaft«r,
and no merchant can keep in mind the holidays of all the countries with which he corre-
spondfl and which he must consider in hia arrangements. I will give you a brief example :
I had made my arrangranents to arrive in New York on September 2 to do certain
definite work during the day and to continue my trip to Chicago that evening. I had no
suspicion that September 2 waa Labor Day, upon which it is impossible to transact busi-
ness anywhere in America. Now I think that this could be somewhat improved if those
of us who engage in international bunness would state on our letterheads for our com-
munications to buainees friends abroad the list of days upon which no business is done.
Ihia would prevent many serious miabape. Many transactions depend on the receipt of
an answer within a limited time. And if this answer cannot be received because the other
party has a holidiQ' and does not receive hia telegram, laige transactions are liable to
miscarry.
Furthermore, gentlemen, I believe it is poasible to interest all the large newspapers
everywhere and have tiiem publish, for the benefit of tiie public, the dates of hohdays
in foreign lands, lu this way, until the inauguration of the international calendar, a
laige part of the annoyances which have harassed us up to the present time can be
avoided, imtil we have agreed upon an international calendar. For these reasons I ask
the Fifth Congreaa of the United Chambers of Commerce to endorse my suggestion that
all chambers of commerce be asked to advise their members to indicate on their letterheads
the hohdays in their own countries and further take steps to have their newspapers an-
nounce the'bolidays in foreign countries.
U. 1« Pr6sld«nt: Je remercie M.Krauae pour ses observations. II vient de me demander
que, en attendant que Ton ait obtenu le calendrier g^n^ral, on puisee, au moins, de pays & pays,
savoir quela aont lea jours f£ri^. Aujourd'hui, dit-il, les conunerQants d'un pays ignotent
quels sont les joure f^^ dans lee autres pays. O'eet done, en somme, une communication
dont nous pouvons aimplement faire itat dMU noa proc^vetbaux. De la sorte, toutea lea
Digitized byGoOgIC
150 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
cbambrcB de commerce a£Sli£es k notra ccatdi6 pennament sexoot tenues aa c«urant de c« d^eir
trte l^time.
Je ne pense pas qu'il eoit autrement question de provoquer ime decision du congrte S ce
Bujet. J'eBtime done que nous pouvons prendre I'inUressante propoeition de M. Krsuse pour
notification ft toua noe adherents. Vaie aurei Mtirfaction unai, M. Krause.
Le congrte, done, donnera notification it toua lee adhfrent^ de rintircMaate obaerration
que Y0U8 aves faite et qui pennettra ainai sua n^ociants dea diff^rents pays de savoir d'avanoe
quels sont les joura fdrifs dana un pays ou dans un autre.
J'ai maintenant comme orateur inscrit, M. Ai<rRBi> Aslsit.
{TranKlation)
1 beg to thank Mr, Krause for bis remarks. Be asks me if while awaiting the intro-
duction of the universal calendar we might at least know from country to country what
the holidays are. At present, he says, the businesB men of one country are not aware
of the bolidaye in other countriea. This is, in brief, a communication which we need
only to note in our proceedii^. In this manner all the chambers of commerce afiil-
iated with our Permanent Committee wiU be informed of this very reasonable desire.
I do not think there is any question of demanding a decision of the Congress on
this subject. I think, therefore, that we may receive the very interesting suggestion
made by Mr. Krause for the information of our members. This will probably be satis-
factory to Mr. Krause.
The Congress will, therefore, advise all its members of the valuable auggeeli<ni
which you have made which would enable business men of different countries to know
in advance what the holidays are in countries abroad.
I will now recf^niie the next speaker, Mr. Aij-hed Aslett.
Mr. Alfred Aslstt, SterelarT/ and Qmeral Manager Fumtu Sailway; DdegaU from Barrov^itt'
Fumet* Chamhtr of Commerce
Mr. President, Goitlemen:
I feel diffident in speaking on this subject, for many others are more capable of doing
GO tlian myself. I think I am the only representative of the P-ngiiah railways at this great
Congress to-day. There are two competitive proposals for the new international calendar
which have been submitted in the circular which you have all seen and which sets them forth
in detail. That of Professor Grosclaude is embodied, so far as England is concerned — and
when I eey England I mean Scotland and Ireland as well — in Mr. Robert Pearce's Calendar
Reform Bill. The other, the proposal by Mr. John C. Robertson, is embodied in Sir Henry
Daliiel's Fixed Calendar Bill. Of the first, that of Professor Grosclaude, I will not go into
details, but that of Mr. Robertson, which I think appeals to most of us — I hope it does —
provides that Sunday will be the first day in every month and Saturday will be the last day,
and there will be equal quarters each of three months or ninety-one days. This will give the
364 days. There are other important details which I will not detain the Congress by going in-
to, because I might take far too long and we should all be weary. The adoption of this
plan, as stated in the little post-card which has been circulated, would simplify commerce,
banking, bookkeeping and the arrangement of all public and private busineaa, and effect a
saving of woric, worry and waste. To that should be added that the payment of wages which
are paid monthly would be greatly facihtated.
Speaking as one of the railway managers in Great Britain, I have no hesitation in s^ing
that a fixed date for Easter, either as proposed by Professor Grosclaude, — that is, Easter Sun-
day on April 14; or that of Mr. John C. Robertson, Easter Sunday April 15 — would be (rf great
advantage. WhitmmdEQr, of course, would come correspondingly later. Take the pieeent
year, 1912; Easter Sunday fell on April 7. Next year Easter Sunday falls on March 23, a
difference of fourteen days. Whitsunday fell this year on May 26; next year, it will fall on
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 151
May 11. Obviousljr, the later Easter day falle the better it will be for tiio general public.
The daya are longer, the weather is usual^ more favorable than in March. The comparison
of revenue and expenditure for Uie current year, compared with the corresponding week for
the previous year, is not interfered with. The receipts, subject to weather — and, may I
Bay, strikes — are usually better in April than in March. Whitsunday wiU also be corre-
spondingly later, as I have already aaid, with sisular advantages.
The religiouB aspect of the question has, of couree, to be faced. This, however, ought
not to stand in the way of the adoption of some measure of calendar reform, whether in regard
to the months or the days, or by fixing the date for Easter. It was in the aixteentii century
— if I remember right, in 15S2 — when England finally accepted — and I think she did so
largely from a commercial point of view — the Gregorian calendar as it now exists. The
question had been more or less under covsideratdon for about two hundred yean and many
difficulties had to be gotten over, and I think the Roman church called in astronomers to adjust
the Juliui calendar.
I was present at the Fourth International Congress held in London in June, 1910, when
an important resolution was passed in favor of calendar reform, which I am pleased to say I
stipported. Switierland was asked to take some initiative after that resolution. I am not quite
sure how far Switzerland has been able to do so; I am afraid she has not made much progress.
It would, I consider, be extremely unfortiinat« if the Fifth International Congress of Chambers
of Commerce, held in this hospitable city of Boston, should not in principle — I will not say
in detail — confirm what was done in London two years ago, and I sincerely hope that a reso-
lution to amend the existing calendar will be carried unanimously.
M. le President: M. Aslett vient done de vulgariser — je suis heureuxqu'il I'ait fait —
des cboses qui ont 6ti dites au congrte de Londres il y a deux ans. Je suis heureux de constater
que les compagnies de chemin de fei aussi trouvent qu'il serait boa d'avoir la date de Pftquea
fixe et un seul calendrier.
Comme je I'ai dit en commengant, nous n'avons pas ik discuter k nouveau la question,
elle a it6 discut^ it fond k Londres, et elle est actuellemcnt aux mains du gouvemement Suisse
pour provoquet une conference politique Internationale. Ce que Dons d^drons, c'eet avoir ici
la confirmation de la dteision prise k Londres il y a deux anS, k savoir, qu'il eet d^drable
d'avoir Pflques fixe, et qu'il est dteirable d'avoir un calendrier uniforme. Voili nmplement
ce que je demande.
Mslntenant, au sujet de la question reUgieuse, je tiens k dire un mot. II est elair que ce
que nous demandons ne va k I'encontre d'aucune conviction religieuse; noua respectons toutee
les convictions; mais nous estimons que toutes les religions ont intirdt k avoir et peuvent pai^
faitement s'arranger pour avoir un calendrier uniforme. Voil& ce que nous disons, nous,
commergants et gens d'affaires, en respectant d'ailleurs toutes les relii^ons.
Je viens, au surplus, de recevoir d'un de noa coUdgues allemands un avis qui serait venu
de I'ambassade allemande k Rome k la Cbancellerie k Berlin, disant qu'il aemblerait que
la Curie romaine, aussi bien que I'^glise grecque eatholique, ne seraient pas diqKwfes k
envisager la question.
n semblerait done — c'eet un avis simplement qui vient d'Allemagne — qu'it Rome,
comme en Gr6ce, on ne serait pas en ce moment dispose. Cela n'empdche en rien, messieurs,
que nous confinnions notre vot«. Nous ne voulons Atre d^eagr^ables & personne, nous rea-
pectons toutes les convictions, mais nous inrastons pour dire, entre hommes d'affaires et
eommergants, qu'il eet desirable d'avoir P&ques fixe, et qu'il eet desirable aussi d'avoir un
calendrier uniforme.
Messieurs, si vous dtes de eet avis, je demands qu'on live la main. (Levte dt main* f/ini-
Dans ces conditions, on peut done consid£rer qu'^ I'unanimit^ ce Ginqui^e Congrts de
Boston confirms ce qui a 6t6 dricid^ au congrte de Londres.
Et nous passons k I'objet suivant k I'ordre du jour.
Digitized byGoOgIC
152 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
(Tramialion)
Mr. Adett thea haa just popularised, and I am glad that he has done ao, thingB
which have been stud at the London Congrese two years ago. I am glad to obaerre
also that railroad companiea find that it would be good to have the date of Easter fixed
and only one calendar.
As I said at the b^;inniiig, we have not to discuaa the question anew, since it wai
discussed thoroughly in London and is at the present time in the hands of the Swiss Gov-
ernment, which will call for an international political conference. What we desire is to
have here the confirmation of the decision taken in London two years ago, namely,
that it is desirtkble to have a fixed Easter and also a uniform calmdar. That is all 1
am asking.
Now, as regards the religious question I have a few words to say. It la obriooi
that what we are asking does not go against any religious conviction; we respect all
convictions; but we hold that all religions are interested to have a unifoim calendar and
can so arrange it. This is what we think, we merchants and business men, while re-
specting at the same time all reli^ons.
Furthermore I have just received from one of my German colleagues a notice
which is supposed to have come from the Germ'an Embassy at Rome to the Chaaoel-
lery at Berlin, saying that it would appear that the Roman Curia, as well as the Greek
Orthodox Church, would not be disposed to consider the question.
It would then seem that this was a notice which came nmply from Germany, and
that Rome as well as Greece is not favorably disposed at this time. This does not
prevent us, however, from confirming our vote. We do not wish to be disagreeable
towards anybody, we respect alt convictions, but we insist on saying, between businen
mat and merchants, that it is desirable to have a fixed Easter and a imifonn calendar.
Gentlemen, if you are of this opinion, I pray you to raise your hands. (Gentral
mitirtg of handt.)
In these conditions we may consider that the Fifth Congress held in Boston unani-
mously ctmfirms what has been decided at the London Congress.
We now pass to the following subject in the order of the day:
THE REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONS
H. Louis Canon-Legrand, Pretwfenl of the Congret*
MeesieurB, eette question des expositions Internationales est tout simplemc
question de notification. Ce fut K I'lm de nos pr^cMenls ctmgrte, k Milan, que Ton iaiix
I'avis qu'il serait desirable de cr6er dans les difi^rentA pays des comitfa qui seraioit chargte
de decider la participation nationale aux expositions. Le Congrte soumet que cee oomit^
devraient fitre li^ entre eux, de fa^on i, former un otgEUUsme international. Cetto fots encore
nous avons eu la satisfaction de constater qu'un gouvemement, le gouvemement AUemand,
reprenait nos voeuz et convoquait k Berlin, pour le mois d'octobre proohain, une ccmf^raice
officielle intemationale pour traitor de cetto question.
Mon but, done, a 6t^ simplement de vous dire que notre Congris dee Ohambres de Com-
merce est arrive, eette fois encore, k attirer {'attention des gouvemements, et notre rtaultat
i nous est atteint, puisque nous devons nous reporter i ce qui se fera le mois procfaain i, BeriiD.
Nous ne pouvons pas discuter k nouveau eette question des eqmsitions, mais si quri-
qu'un desire ajouter quelque chose, comme documentation, je lui donnerai volontiers la patois.
Personne ne demande la parole. Je conud^re done que voue avei tons eu notificaticm de
mon tspport et que vous £tes au courant de la question.
M. FiLxm a la parole pour une commimication venant de Chine au sujet du CBlendrier.
Cela vous montrera comme eette question est d'un int^t g^n^ral.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 153
{Tranalatum)
Gentlemen, this queetion of international expoations is atao simply a question of
notification. It was »t one of our recent congressee, at Milan, that the opinion was
e^reeeed of tJie deair^ility of creating in difierent countries committees which would
decide on the national participation in expositions. The Congress submita that these
committees ought to be joined together so as to form an international oixanism. Once
again we had the sstisfaction to observe that one government, the German, conincided
with our wishes and convoked in Berlin for next October an official international con-
ference t« handle this question.
My puipoee, therefore, has merely been to tell you that our Congress of Chambers
of Commerce has again been successful in attracting the attention of govenunents, and
our own object has succeeded, since we must now await the outcome of action at Berlin
next month.
We cannot now discuss anew the question of expositions, but if any one wishes to
add anytbing, for the sake of record, I will gladly allow him the floor.
As no one wishes the floor, I consider that you have all been notified of my report,
and that you are post«d on the subject.
Mr. FujMsk has the floor to present a communication from China in regard to the
calendar. This serves to demonstrate the general interest of this question.
Mr. Edward A. Filene; I have just received a letter from the Chinese delegates in which
tbey say that the sun of progress, the sun of new times has come to Qiina, and that tbey are
in hearty accord with the vote that has just been taken by this body in regard to the question
erf the calendar. (jlppIouM.)
M. le President: Cela est done particulilremott int^reesant d'un bout & I'autre du
Doonde, tons les pays s'int^reesent & la question.
{TrantlaUon)
This ia, therefore, of particular interest from one end of the worid to the other;
all nations are interested in the subject.
ESTABUSHMENT OF AN mXERNATIONAL COURT OF ARBITRAL
JUSTICE FOR SUITS BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AND FOREIGN
STATES
H. 1« Prtaident: Nona continuous notre ordre du jour et nous amvons au deuxiSme
sujet: "Creation d'un "nibunal arbitral intonational pour litiges entre partiouliers et Ctata
M. Max Apt a la parole pom- nous r£aumer son rapport. Vous ave> tons eon rapport in
tsOento traduit dana les troia languea. M. Apt veut bien nous en donner un i€maa6 ausu
court que poaible.
Un quart d'heure est accords ft M. Apt. Je dis un quart d'heure, parce que nous de-
Tona, ^videmment, limiter le tempe de chaque orateur, car autrement noe Iravaux n'avan-
ceraient guire.
(Trantlatum)
Continuing the order of the day, we arrive at the second topic: "Establishment of
an International Court of Arbitral Justice for Suite between Individuals and Foreign
States."
Digitized byGoOgIC
154 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Mr. Max Apt has the floor to review his report. You all have hie report in foil,
tromilaKd into the three languages. Mr. Apt will kindly give us a summary as briefiy
as possible.
A quarter of an hour is allowed for Mr. Apt, since we mUBt, evidently, linut the time
of each speaker, as otherwise our work will be too much delayed.
Dr. Hax Apt, Syndic of "Die AUesten der Kaufmanmdiafl oon Berlin"
Gentlemen:
I must ask you to pardon me if I do not make my entire speech in English as I am afraid
that my English pronunciation is not of the best; but you have received the report which bat
already given you a good idea of what I am going to say. I wish to explain to you that it is
very difGcult for a business man who has business relations with a fore^ State to obtain his
rights. Therefore I propose the foundation of an International Arbitration Court, established
at The Hague, in which it shall be possible for business men having dealings with foreign States
to have their differences settled.
{ConHniang in French)
Meaaieurs, vous aves entre tos mains un rapport imprim^ sur I'^t^tissement d'un tri-
bunal international pour les diff^nds entre les Etats strangers et lee particuliers; il vous
donne un clair apergu du but que nous poureuivons.
II est de toute n£cesait£ que ie commer^ant, que Tinduatriel qui fait dea affaires avec un
£tat Stranger, puisse, a'il a un diffSrend avec lui, soumettre ce diff^rend k un tribunal et ob-
tenir justice, tout comme quand il a un diff^rend avec un particulier de nationality ^trangte.
Mais la r^alit€ nous apprend que cette justice, il a toutes les peinee du monde aujourd'hui k
M la faire rendre dans see diff^rends avec un £it>at Granger. II est done n^cessaire que aoit
oonstitu^ un tribunal int«mational devant lequel lea commercanta ou industriels puiaeent
porter leurs diS£rends avec un fitat Stranger. Et je vais dSmonti«r que les arguments que,
de maints c&tSs, on a fait voloir contre la realisation de ce vceu si legitime, sont sans fon-
dement.
(rrotwlorton)
Gentlemen, you have in your hands a print«d report on the est^Ushment of an
international court for differences between foreign States and individuals; this wilt
give you a clear idea of our intentions.
It is quit« necessary that a merchant or a manufacturer who does businees with a
foreign Stat« should in case of a difference with the latter be able to submit this differ-
ence to a court and obtain justice just as when he has a difference with an individual.
But in reality, we find many difficulties in the way of obtaining such justice t^Mlay.
It is therefore necessary that an international court ^ould be established before which
merchants or manufacturer eau carry their suits against foreign States, and I shall
proceed to show that the arguments which have been advanced on many sides against
the realization of this most reasonable desire are unfounded.
(ConUniiiTig in German)
Meine HerrenI
Der Schied^erichtsgedanke hat auf dem Gebiete dea VOlkerrechta bereits seine Triumphe
gefeiert. Die etste Haager Priedens-Eonferenz vom Jahre 1890 hat neben der Eri^Bfechla-
Eonvention eine Schiedsgericbts-Eonvention geschaffen und lur FUhrung vdlkerrechtlicher
Streitigkeiten twiechen einzelnen Staaten ist ein permanenter und jederseit Eug&nglicber
Schiedsgerichtehof mit dem Sitie im Haag errichtet worden, Freilich hondelt ce sich hier nicht
um einen stftndigen Weltgerichtshof, vielmehr wird durch Emennung seitens der Staalcn,
von deoen jeder Staat bis zu vier Richtem bestellen kann, eine IJst« von Weltschieds-
richtem aufgestellt, aus der jederceit ein Schiedsgericbt durch die stieitenden Parteien ge-
bildet werden kann, um eine schwebende Streitigkeit txi erledigen. Bekanntlich hat Cani^ie
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 155
ein Kapital von anderthalb Millionen Dollar lur VerfQgung gestellt zur Emchtung eines
Palastea ftlr eim Weltschiedagericht. Der Palast wird demo&chst seiner BeBtimmung Qber-
g^xa werden. In den ers1«n 10 Jahren eeit der ersten Haager Friedena-Konferens sind dem
Btftndigen Weltachiedsgericht seche Streitigkeiten von grofier Bedeulung tlbergeben worden.
Ich erw&hne luer den Strait Ewischen Deutschland, England und Italien einerseits und
Veneiuela snderetaeita wegen Fordemngen an die Staatskasse von Venezuela aus dem Jahre
1903; an den Streit iwisclien Deutscbland, England und Fnmkraich eineneite und Japan
anderarseits wegen Auel^^ung von VertragabeeCinunungen bezQglich der Steuerpflicht der in
Japan ansAssigen Europiler aus dem Jahie 1902 und endlich an den berUhmten Cssablanca-
Streitfall iwischen Deutechland und Frankraich aus dem Jahre 1908.
' Die zweit« Qaager Friedens-Konferanz im Jahre 1907 hat das Werk der eret«n Konferens
verfoeseert und ei^&nzt. Wenn eomit auf dem Gebiete dee dffeatlichen intemationalen
Rectkts groGe Fortachritte su veneicbnen eind, kann man dasaelbe nicht von dem Gebiete des
intemationalen Privatrachta b^UMtpten, und mit Hecht fordert Zom in seinem kOrdich er-
schienenen Buche „Das deutache Recht und die Internationale Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit," daU
die Frage der intemationalen Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit einer befriedigenden Lteung zugef<ihrt
Zu de&jenigen Fragen, welche in ereter Reihe in Angrig genommen werden mOsaen, ge-
hflrt die Froge der SchaSung einee intemationalen Sohiedagerichta f Uc Streitigkeiten twiachen
PrivatpetBonen und auslindischen Staaten.
Eine Enquete, welche die Xlteat«n der Kaufmannschaft von Berlin in ihrem Wirtechaft»-
gebiete angestellt haben, hat ergebeu, dalS der jetzt bestehende mangelnde Rechtsschuti eine
groBe Reihe von Firmen von Anfang an abhalte, mit auslfindiacben Staaten Gesch&ftsverbin'
dungen einEUg^en, Der mangelnde Rechlaechuti werde von den 8oliuldneiiitBat«n h&ufig
daiu benuUt, imbegrUndete Bem&ngelungen zu erheben, nicht berechtigte Abzage vom
Ksufpieia zu machen, die Zahlungsfristen ungebDbrlich auaiudehnen.
Eb wurde auagefuhrt, wenn das jetzt beatehende MiCtrauen g^enflber ausUndischen
Staaten durch die Errichtung eines intemationalen Schiedsgeiichts geschwunden set, viele
Firmen eine groSe Reihe von Geachfiften machen wl^en, die sie jetxt unteriieBen. Schon daa
bloBe Bestehen einea solchen 8ehiedsgerichts vrtlrde dazu beitrageu, daC die Staaten in ihren
verm^nsrechtlichen Beiiehui^en zu PriTatpereonen kulanter wUrden, und daS sie nament-
lich pOnktUcher und schneller zahlten. Das BedOrfnia nach einer gesetzlichen Regelung tritt
umso dringender hervor, ale unsere ganee wirtschaftUche Entwicklung dahin geht, als die
Staaten gewerbliche und kommerzielle Untemehmungen in hoherem Maiie betreiben wie bis-
her und daU aie dadurcb in mannigfache Beziehiu^en eu Privatperaonen tret«n. Wenn aber
der Staat in den privatwirtachaftlichen Verkehr eintritt, ao widetspricht es unaeiem Rechts-
bewuSbsein, daC er dann anders behandelt wird wie jede andere Privatperson, und daQ in
einem aolchen Falle dem Privatmann kein direktes Elagerecht gegen den ausl&ndischen Staat
suatehen eoU. Denn in Wiridichkeit ist eine Verfolgung privatrechtUcher AnsprQche g^en
einen auslftndischen Staat mit den grfillten Schwierigkeiten verknflpft. Wenn man den Gl&u-
biger darauf verweist, daB er den fremden Staat vot den eigenen Gericht«n im Aualand ver-
klagen kdnne, ao ist doch in Betracht zu ziehen, dalS die rechtlichen Einrichtungen aller
Staaten nicht so aind, daQ mit Sicherheit auf ein zutrefiendes Urteil Dber die meiat sehr schwie-
rigen Fragen dee intemationalen Priyatr^chta gerechnet werden kann. Dazu konunt, dall der
Scbutdnerstaat innerhalb seines Qebietes Oeset^eber ist und bat ea d^er in der Hand, ob
er vor seinen Gerichten Recht nehmen will. Man braucht keineswega an eine bewuCte Rechte-
beugung oder Juatizverweigerung zu denken, um die in der Geschfiftswelt beat«hende Abnei-
gung zu verstehen, die Gerichte des ausl&ndischen Staatea gegen diesen Staat selbst ansuruTen.
Wenn man den Gl&ubiger femer darauf hinweist, daB er den fremden Staat im Heimata-
staat verklagen k6nne, so geht die herrachende Meinung in Theorie tmd Praxis dahin, daQ
kein Staat Qber den anderen zu Gericht aitzen darf, da das geltende Vftlkerreoht die Aus-
dehnung der inlftndischen Gerichtagewalt auf fremde Staaten nicht geetatte. So hat bei-
q>ieUweiae das Reichsgericht ea als anerkannten Grundsati dea Vfilkerrechts hingestellt, daB
Digitized byGoOgIC
156 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
ein aualfindiBcIier Staat auch aus rem privatrechtlichen AusprQchen tot <
Gerichten nicM betaugt werden dtirfe. Ea wird dort ausgefiUut, ea atehe feat, daB die b6heren
Gerichte in Deutscbland, OEterreicb, Frank reich, England und den Vereinigten Staaten vna
Nordamerika fast Ht&ndig ziim Auadruclc gebracht haben, der aualftudiaehe Staat sei in dex
Regel auch bei privatrecbtticheo Aiuprachen der Gerichtebarkeit der Gericht« eines andercn
Staat«s nicht unterworfen.
Man kann den Gl&ubiger auch nicht auf die in Nr. 2 dee Reich^esetiblattee ron 1010
verSffentlichte Haager Konvention Uber die „DetteB contractuellee" Tom 18. Oktober 1907
verweisen. Dieae Haager Konvention trSgt in der im Reichagesetiblatt verOSentlichteo deut-
Hchen t)berBetBung die tJberaohrift: ,^bkomnien, betrefiend die Beschifinkung der Arnreo-
dung von Gewalt bei der Eintreibung von Vertragsachulden" und Uutet in den taa£gd>eDdeo
Artikeln:
deren Angehorige eingefordert werden, nicht lur WaSengewalt m echreiten."
Dieee Bestimmung fbdet keiue Anwendung, wenn der Sohuldoeivtaat ein Aneibieteo
scbiedsgerichtlicher Erledigui^ ablehnt oder unbeantwort«t IfiCt oder im Falle der Annahme
den Abschlufi dee SchiedsvertrsgB vereitelt oder nach dem Schiedsvertrage dem Sehiednpniche
Diclit nachkommt.
Medigung intemationaler StreitF&Ile t
mangelimg besonderer Abreden der Pa __,
dee An^nicha, Qber die Hdhe der Schuld, sowie Qber die Zeit und Art der Zahlung."
Dieee Haager Konvention Qber die „Dettes contractuellee" kann im voriiegenden Falle
nicht in Betracht kommen, denn aie iat lediglich auf die EinschrSnkung der vOlkerrechtlicben
Selbathilfe, also auf die Beseitigung einea Kriegafalles gerichtet. Die Konvention will einaig
und allein die Schuldnerstaaten vor Krieg wegen einer privatrechtlichen Streitigkeit schfitaen.
Sie gew&hrt daher dem Privatglfiubiger nicht nur keinerlei Recbte, sondem sie nimmt ihm
sogar die M5glicbkeit, daQ der Heimatastaat eeinetwegen dea fremden Staat mit Krieg Qber-
rieht. Vor allem aber bestcht fUr den Heimataataat keine Pflicht lur Intervention, vielmehr ist
ea Bteta in daa Ermeseen des Staates gesetEt, ob er intervenieren will, und er wird in der Regel
OrOnde finden, aus denen er ablehnt, den dipknnatischen Apparat in Bewepmg lu setsen.
Dem Privatgl&ubiger steht also ein direktes Klagerecht nicht ni, er muB sich vielmehr an
den eigenen Staat wenden, der, wenn es sich nicht um gam exorbitante F&Ue handelt, in denen
nationale Fragen berUhrt werden, wie geaagt, GrOnde finden wird, eine diplomatiache lata-
vention abzulehnen.
Hiemacb bieibt nur der Weg Qbrig, daQ eine neutrale Schiedagerichtainttans geechaffm
wird durch Staat«nvertretungen, die daa Recht hat, tU>er F&lle cu entscheiden, die von Ange-
h6rigen eines Vertragsstaates gegen einen Vertragsstaat erhoben werden. Die DurchfOhrung
dieser Idee wird gewiB keine leichte aein, denn der SouverftnititsbegriS ist bei einiclnen Staaten
BO stark entwickelt, daB aie die Biklung eines derartigen SehiedBgerichta aU Einschr&nkung
ihrer Souveranitat ansehen werden. Allein dieser Gedchtapunkt wire ein unrichtiger, dean
wenn ein derartigea Schiedsgericht geschaSen wird, so wird es lediglich geeohaSen aua dem
freien Willen der Staaten und nicht durch die Unterwerfung unter eine hdhere Gewalt. Ea han-
delt aich auct nicht darum, daB ein einielner Staat aich dieser neutralen Instana unterwirft,
sondem daB alle Kulturstaaten sich derselben imterwerfen. Auch aoll in dieeer neutraloi
Instant nicht eine den Staaten Ubergeordnete Gerichtsbarkeit, sondem eine Jutisdiktion
kraft gemeinsamen Rechta geechaffen werden. Und so viel ist feststehend, daB sich Staaten
in den sie berOhrenden Streitigkeiten einem Schiedsgericht unt«rwerfeo, ohne ihrer WQrde
und Souverinitftt etwaa lU vergeben.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 157
Der Einwaod aber, daG, wens eine derttrtige Institutitm eingeflihrt werde, der (uiBwftrtige
Staat ea voraiehen werde, lieber mit seinen eigeneo AngehSrigen Gesch&fte abiuschlieCen
uod daQ dadurch die weltnirtechaf tlichen Beiiehungen der eizuelneD Volker Abbnich erieiden
vetden, kaim nicht tutreCTeii, da mao Hchon heute, wie die von dea Altesten der Kauf m&im-
Bchaft von Berlin versnetaltete Enquele eigeben hat, gerade deshalb, weil ein Rechteweg
gfigea den aual&ndischen Staat nicht oSensteht, vielfach mit einem Angebdrigen dee betref-
fenden StA&tes ais Strohm&nn kontrahiert, oder aber, daC man swar mit dem Strohmaon
dii'ekt abscblieBt, eich jedoch dann die AuBenst&nde durch Privatleute garantieren l&£t.
Wenn aber ein Staat dieeem Abkommen nicht beitreten sollte, so w&re er lediglich auf seine
eigenen Stoateangehdrigen angewieaen und wtirde dann vorauseichtlich nicht diejenigen
BedtlrfniBse ffir Krieg^swecke beechaffen kOnnen, ftir die ee auf die AngehOrigen anderer
Staaten angewieaen iat.
Die Idee der Errichtung eines solchen intemationalen SchiedagerichtB hat, seit die Xl-
testen der Kaufmannschaf t von Beriin sich lur BefQrwortung dieser Frage entschloaaen haben,
weitgehende Zustimmung gefunden. Der Mitteleurop&ische Wirtechaftsverein und der Han-
delsvertragsverein haben eich dafOr ausgeaprochea. Der Ausschul! des Deutechen Handels-
tages hat in seiner dieajahrigen Kslner Tagung einstimmig einen gleichen BeachluS gefaQt.
Der Hans^imd hat die Foiderung in seine Richtlinien aufgenommen. Die InterparUmen-
torigche Union wild aicli dem Vemehmen nach in ihrer Tagung im September 1912 in Genf
mit der Frage beechfiftigen. Der Veiband der intemationalen Verst&ndigung wird auf seiner
Heidelberger Tagung die Errichtung dee Schiedsgerichte behandeln. Die ,rAmerican Associa-
tioo of Commerce and Trade" in Berlin hat in ihrem Berichte vom 15. August 19II die Anie-
gung g^eben, die Vereioiglen Staaten von Amerika mOchten diese wichtige Angelegenheit
jetit ihierseita eneipsch in die Hand nehmen. Der in Boston im September dieaes Jahiea
etactfindende Internationale Handelskammer-Koi^reB hat die Frage auf seine Tagesordnung
gesetst. In Amerika hat sich auf der dieej&farigen amerikanischen Schiedsgerichta-Konfereni,
die Ton etwa vierbundert Feisonen beaucht war, Frofeeeor Wheeler fiir daa Schiedsgericht
au^eaprocben.
In gleicher Weiae, wie die Vertreter von Handel und Industrie die SchaSung eines inter-
nationalen SchiedsgerichlahofeB wQnschen, haben aich aucb die Vertreter der Wiasenscbaft
fOr eine solche Idee ausgesprochen, wie Freund, Meili, Nippold, Zom, Fischer, v. Mariti-
Wehberg und Meadelseohn-Bartholdy. Auch hat der Marburger Professor Walther SchQck-
ing jetit darauf hingewiesen, die SchaSung einer Instani fOr PrivatiechteansprQche gegen
fremde Staaten werde zu den orgaoiaatorischen Aufgaben der dritten Haager Konferem
eehfiren.
Hiemach bitte ich, daQ der Kongress beechlieSen m6ge, daQ ein intemationalea Schieds-
gericht errichtet werde, welcbes benifen ist, venuCgensiechttiche Streitigkeiten iwischen
auslindischen Staaten und Privatpersonen xu entscheiden.
(ZVunddtton)
Gentlemen:
The idea of a tribunal of arbitration baa already gained a victoty in the domain of
interuational law. The First Hague Conference, in the year 1899, established a conven-
tjon in respect to international war and likewise for international arbitration and a perm»>
neot and always available court of arbitration for causes of intenkational law betwe^i
individual States bas been permanently established in The Hague. Ae a matter of fact
this is not a permanent international court, but rather a list of inteniational judges of
arbitration of which each nation may appoint up to four judges from which a court of
arbitration can be drawn by the parties to the diqnite to settle some question which
may arise. As is well known, Cainegie has given the sum of one million and a half
dollars to erect a palace for an international court of arbitration and this will shortly be
turned over for this puipoee. In the first ten years since the Fint Hague Peace Confer-
ence ax disput«e of great importance have been submitted to this court.
Digitized byGoOgIC
« INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
I i«fer bere to the dispute between Germany, England and Italy on one side and
Veneiuela on the other, arising out of demands on the treasury of Veneiuela in the year
1903; the dispute between Germany, England and France on one aide and Japan oo
the other side in 1902, in reg&rd to the failure to cany out agreemente relating to the
taxation of Europeans residing in Japan; and finally the celebrated Casablanca dispute
between Germany and France in 1908.
The Second Hague Peace Conference in the year 1907 has improved and completed
the work of the first conference. While thus great progreae may be recorded in the do-
main of the international law of nations the same cannot be said in respect of inieraa-
tionol personal legal r^ts, and Zom property asks in his recently published book, "Das
deutsche Recbt uud die intemationale Scbiedageiichtsbarkeit" (German Law and In-
ternational Arbitration) for a eatisfactoiy solution of the question of Internationa
arbitration.
To those questions which must be taken up in the first place belongs the question of
creating on international court of arbitration for suite between individuab and foreign
States.
An invest^tion mode by "Die Xllesten der Eaufmannschaft von Berlin " in iia
territory has shown that the existing lack of l^al protection has withheld a number
of firms from entering on business relations with foreign States. The defective legal
protection is often utilised by debtor States to advance unfounded claims, to make un-
fair deductions from the purchase price and to extend unreasonably the tenn for
payment.
It was contended that if the mistrust which now exists towards foreign States were
removed by means of an international court of arbitration, many firma would do a
great deal of business which they now do not undertake. The mere exist«nce of such s
court would contribute towards rendering the States more liberal in their relationships
to private persons as regards the property laws of said States, and that they would pay
more promptly. The need of legal regulation becomes more imperative as the Stales
are to a greater extent than before entering upon mechanical and commercial under-
takings, thus coming into closer contact with private persons. But if the State takes
up n^otiations on a private basis it goes against our feeling of justice that the State
should be treated otherwise than any other private person would be, and that in such s
case no direct right of complaint should be allowed to the private pereon against a foreign
State. For, in reality, the pursuance of private legal cltdms against a foreign State on
only be done with the greatest difficulty. If one points out to the creditor that he can
prosecute Uie foreign State in its own courts in a foreign country one must take into
consideration that the l^al arrangements of all States are not so that one con reckon with
surety on on accurate judgment on the generally very difficult question of international
private rights. Added to which the indebted State in the range of its own territoiy is
its own lawgiver and therefore looks for its rights to its own courts. One is in no vise
obliged to consider a conscious yielding to the law or refusal of justice, in order lo
understand the aversion existing in the business world to calling on the courts of a foreign
Stat« against that very State.
If one furtlier points out to the creditor that he can prosecute the foreign State
in the home State, the reigning opinion in theory and practice goes to show that no
Stat« con try another one, as the existing national law does not allow the interior legal
power to extend to foreign States. For example, the Supreme Court of the Empire has
mode it on acknowledged fundamental clause of the national law, that a foreign State
cannot be called before the courts of the interior for a purely private reason. It is there
carried out and is firmly established, that the higher courts in Germany, Austria, France,
England and the United States of North America have made it almost a settled point
that the foreign States, se a rule, also in claims of a private nature, cannot come under
the jurisdiction of the courts of another State.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 159
Neither c«d one refer the debtor to No. 2 of the pamphlet on "National Law of
1910" of The Hague Convention on the "Dettes contractuellea" of the 18th of October,
1907. This Hague Convention in the German translation is called "Regulations re-
garding the Limitation of the Use of Force in collecting Contract-Debts" and is given
in the articles refening thereto ae follows;
"Art. 1. The contracting powers have agreed not to have recourse to warfare to en-
force tiie pa]mient of contractrdebts- which the government of one country exacts from
the government of another country for its subjects,"
This rule is not carried out if the indebted State refuses the offer of a settlement
by a court of arbitration or if it leaves the ofier unanswered, or in case of an acceptance,
binders the settlement of the court of arbitration, or aft«t the arbitration contract has
been drawn up does not carry out the decision therein specified.
"Art. 2. It has further been agreed upon that the decision mentioned in mragraph
2 of the above article should be subject Ui the process described in Chapter 3, Title 4, of
The Hague Convention for a peaceful arrangement of international disputes. Failing a
particular agreement of the parties, the arbitration decides on the reason of the claim, on
the extent ^ the debt, or the amount of the debt as well as on the time and place of
payment."
This Hague Convention on the "Dettes contractuellea" cannot be taken into con-
eideration in the case on band, for it is principally directed to the limitii^ of national
aelf-help, therefore to the removing of a reason for war. The ctmvention wishes only to
protect the indebted States from war on account of private legal disputes. It therefore
gives the private creditor not only no rights but it even deprives him of the possibility
tiiat his home State might declare war against the foreign Stat« on his account. But
above all no obligation exists for the home State lo interfere; on the contrary it is left to
the judgment of the State, if it wishes to intervene, and it generally finds reasons to re-
fuse to put the diplomatic apparatus into motion.
The private creditor therefore has no right to a direct complaint. On the con-
trary, he must have recourse to his own State, which, unless it is a quite extraordinary
case, in which national questions come into play, will find reasons for refusing a diplo-
matic intervention.
Accordingly, there is only one way left, that of creating a neutral coiu^, of arbitra-
tion by State representation, which would have the right of deciding in cases which are
brought by subjects of a contract State against another contract State. The realization
of this idea will certainly not be easy, for the feeling of sovereignty is so strongly de-
veloped in single States tltat each would look on the formation of such an arbitrary
court as an encroachment on its sovereignty. Nevertheless, this view would be incorrect,
for if such a court of arbitration were created it would be so essentially by the free will
of the States and not tbroi^ coercion by a h^her power. The question also is not that
of a single State giving way to this neutral court, but that all civilized States should
subject themselves to it. Also in this neutral court there should not be called into exis-
tence a l^al body having power over the States, but a jurisdiction founded on mutua
rights. One thing is certain, that States which subject themselves to a court of arbi-
tration in disputes affecting themselves can do so without losing any of their dignity
or sovereignty.
The objection, however, that if such an institution were established the foreign
States would prefer rather to do business with its own subjects and that therefore the uni-
veraal business relationship of the individual nations would be injured, cannot stand, as
one already to-day often contracts in the person of a dummy with the subject of the
State in question, there being no legal way open to act gainst the foreign State, all of
which was shown by the investigation effected by "Die Altesten der Kaufmannschaft
TOD Berlin"; or it may happen that one can come to a direct termination with the
Digitized byGoOgIC
160 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
diunmy, but hu the guanmty for tLe outride tiSftin fuiuished by priv&te putiefl. Should
tlie State, however, not join in this agreement, it would be essentially dependent on it«
own State eubjecta and would probably not then be able to fumish tboee necessary
materials for puipoees of war, for which it ia dependent on the mbjecta of other States.
The idea of forming an international court of arbitration of this kind, has found
widespread faTor, since "Die XltestenderKaufmannschaft von Berlin" decided l^j further
this question. "Der Mitteleuropftische Wirtechaftaverein" and the "Handelavertrsiei-
verein" have expressed themselves in favor of it. The delegates of "Der Deutsche
Handelstag" adopted a unanimous resolution of similar tenor at its session of this year at
Cologne. The "Hansabund" has also voiced the demand. The Inteiparliamentary
Union will occupy itself with the question at its session in September, 1912, at Geneva.
The League for International Understanding wHl take up the question of creating a court
of arbitration at iM meeting in Heidelberg. The American Association of Commerce
and Trade in Berlin in it« report of August 15, ISli, has introduced the questkHt of
having the United States of America <m its part take up this important matter eneiget-
ically. The International Congress of Chambets of Commerce which will take place in
Boston in September has placed the question on its order of the day. In America at
the conference on arbitration held this year, which was attended by about four hun-
dred persons, Professor Wheeler spoke in favor of the cottrt of atbitrKtion.
In the same manner, as the representatives of commerce and industry desire the
creation of an international court of arbitration, the representatives of science haVe
expressed their approval of this principle, as Freund, MeiU, Nippold, Zom, Fischer, v.
Marits-Wehbeig and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Professor Walther SchQoking, of Mar-
burg, has drawn attention to the fact that the formation of a court for private suits
against foregin States belongs to the organising tasks of the Third Hague Conference.
I therefore request that the Congress should decide that an international court (d
arbitration should be established for the purpose of deciding diqmtes afieeting property
between foreign States and private individuals.
(Continuing in BngUah)
Gentlemen, I have explained all the arguments in favor of the establiohment of the
international arbitration court. When that court is in operation, it will be a good foundation
for the development of export trade and industry. But the chambers of commerce are not
able to put it into existence. So much the more is it necessary that the States take tl^ initia-
tive. And therefore I beg you, that in your States you may influence your govenunenta.
And I hope that the American Government will be the first of the States to invite the (Aba
States to form that international court. The realiiation of that idea would not only mean im-
mense progress in the development of commerce and industry, but would also fill a great void
in the path of justice and civilisation.
(.Cotitinuinff in French)
Messieurs, je crois que les explicationsque j'ai eu I'honneur de vous pr&saiter, ont laige-
ment suffi i, d^montrer que I'institution d'un tribunal international d'arbitnge, k Ia Haye,
ne peut que contribuer au d^veloppement du commerce et de I'industrie d'eqtortation.
Mais oe tribunal international ne peut 6tre cr^ que si les £tats preaoent, vtfri-vis lee
uns des autres, I'engagement, scell6 par une convention r^iproque, de le oonstituer. n
faut que les chambres de commerce de chaque £tat pr^eentent k leur gouvemement respectif
le vceu pressant que soit convoqu^ une conference dea £)tats, pour le r^ement de cetts
question si importante pour le commerce mondial.
A vous, messieurs, j'adresae I'instante pri^re de lutter de toutee vob forces, dans vos
fitatA respectifs, pour la realisation de cette id6e.
Ea consequence, je vous prie, messieurs, de vouloir biea imettre le voeu que soit oonstitufi
un tribtmal international pour lee diftereads entre lee particuliers et les £tats etrangers, qui
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 161
rcpitecntenit un immenae progrte, non seulement dans le d^veloppement du commeree et
de I'industrie, m&ia uusi remplirait une grande lacune dans U recberche de la justice et de
la civilisation. {Appiaudiuemenlt.)
(Trmulalion)
Gentlemeo, I believe that the a^umenta which I have just bad the honor of present-
ing to you have BufGced to demonstrate that the establishment of an international court
of arbitration at The Hague cannot fai] to contribute to the development of com-
merce and e^Ktrt buainese.
But this international court cannot be created unleae the goremments will mutually
agree, and be bound by a reciprocal convention to establish it. The chambers of com-
merce in each country should present to their reepecUve governments the urgent wish
for the convocation of a conference of the nations for the settlement of this question
which is so important to the commerce of the world.
To you, gentlemen, 1 address Uie sincere desire Ibat you use all your efforts, in your
respective countries, for the realiiation of this idea.
Accordingly, gentlemen, I beg you to express a wish for the establishment of an
international court for suits between individuals and foreign States, which would not only
mean a tremaidous advance in the development of commerce and industry but would also
fill a great void which now exists in the path ol justice and civilisation. (Applaiue.)
Bit. R. S. Frawr, Member of Council of Lmdon Chamber of Commerce
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
In secraiding the resolution moved by Dr. Apt favoring the establishment of an Inter-
national Court of Aibitration for the adjustment of differences between individuals and
States, I would wish to take the opportunity of felicitating Dr. Apt on the excellent, eshaustive,
and may I say flluminating paper which he has written on the subject and which I fancy will
take a very hi^ place in the literature of arbitral justice when that literature becomes history.
iApplauee.)
It is a veiy great pleasure to one who has taken a considerable part in the establishment
of international staDdardised courts of arbitration, commercial arbitration, to speak on this
subject and to support Dr. Apt. In the past it may be said that arbitration has not made
great advance. Mr. President, the astonishing thing is that in the absence of any fixed prac-
tice or settled procedure, arbitration has advanced at all; and it is only consequent on the good
sense of good mm that arbitration is now in the forefront of practical politics. (.Apptauae.)
Since this Congress met in London great strides have been made in the direction of plae-
ing commennal arbitration on a direct woricing basis.
I have the honor to be a member of the International Law Association which met in Lon-
don two years since and in Paris this last Whitsuntide and on both occasions this important
subject was dealt with and pressed forward. Then again consequent upon the agitation for
tliis movement in the British Board of Trade, a veiy active inquiry b proceeding with a view
to concerted steps for establishing standardised courts in all parts trf the world, the awards
of which will be enforceable wherever compliance therewith is required.
Sir, it is not only in Great Britain that this great movement is taking root. Our good
friends in Germany, in one of the most carefully prepared treatises that has ever been written,
pronounced by the Economical Council of Berlin, have submitted to the London Chamber
of Commerce a proposal for establishing a commercial court of arbitration for dealing with
differences between British merchants and German merchants. (Apptaiue.)
Sir, when once we establish a court d arbitration commanding and deserving pubUc con-
fidence, whose judgments will command the respect of all, we shall indeed have established the
bridge over which other movements will subsequently follow. Not only will the great claim
which my friend advances be conceded of being able to establish a claim against the State,
Digitized byGoOgIC
162 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
but that BtiU greater question of inteniation&l peace will be moet materially advanced. lAp-
plauM.) And for this reason: if you educate men in the study and practice of acfoitration m
their own aSaire, they will hesitate a long time before acting otherwise in community proceed-
ingH at the terrible cost to life and property.
I do not wish to intrench on the question of imperial arbitration. I leave that to othen.
I confine myself to the desire for establishing a strong court of oonuneicial aibitration to which
you and I and every one having a difference can have recourse.
Let me say one thing in conclusion: commerce is the subject of no State and it is the sov-
ereign of all. And I feel that justice is a matter of right and not merely of privilege.
In the past it has been a matter for rulers to decree whether they would open their'courta
during three of the moat important mouths of the year. In arbitration I hope we will have
forever put a stop to that abuse.
Well, sir, it may be some years before you will secure the court of arbitration which Dr.
Apt and myself have advocated. In the meanwhile you have large power in your own hands,
power not only to secure the unification of law but also to provide the means for speedily
adjusting your difficulties. I refer to the need for revising the commercial contracts which you
are in the h^it of entering into. Many (^ you have used obsolete forms tmly to be thrown
into the waBl« basket. May I suggest to you that when you return to your home you should
carefully look at the provisions of these forms of contract and if, as I surmise, you see occasiro
to modify them you will at least do so to your own advantage.
I have very great pleasure in seconding the resolution. (AppIouM.)
Dr. Louis VujasBf, Secretary of the ChcuiAer of Commerce and Induitry of Arad, Hwigary
Messieuis:
II y a deux sortee de questions dont nos congrte doivent s'occuper. L'une est consacrte
aux exigences du moment et aboutit k des propositions qui peuvent se r^aliser immMiate-
ment. L'autre est non moins pratique, mais se heurt« pour le moment k des objections, dee
pt^jugia, des jakiusies nationatea, et il faut de grands efforts pour airiver, malgr^ oes difficult^
presque insurmontablee. Je suis forc6 de constater avec un profood r^p«t que la trte impo^
tant« question qui nous oc«upe en ce moment, de r«mplacer les posubilil^ de I'aibitmire par
les principea de la justice, de I'impartiaiit^ et du droit, n'est pas encore realisable.
La question d'un tribunal arbitral international pour litiges entre particuliers et £t«ts
Grangers a d£i& ktk discut^e k plusieurs reprises, et elle a eu pour elle et contre eQe de grands
partisans. C'eet surtout en AUemagne qu'elle a 6t£ €tudi6e d'une fagon trto ^jprofondie et
I'assembl^e gSn^rale du " Mitt«leurop&ischen Wirtschaftsverein in Deutscbland," qui a eu lieu
le 14 octobre 1911 k Munich, a pass6 en revue tous lee arguments et toutee lea objections pos-
sibles. Malgri les sympathies incont«atables qu'elle a soulev^ ches ses membree, elle ne
pouvait aboutir k un r^aultat pratique. A mentioimer encore le ess trte impressionnant de
I'Institut du Droit International qui, dans son congrte tenu k Hambourg en 1801, a'eet oft-
Gup4 de ce sujet et a rejet^ I'id^e de la cr^tion d'un tribunal arbitral international, £tant d'avia
que cee sortes de litiges doivent £tre jug£s par les tribunaux r^guliers.
Stant done donn^e cette grande divei^ence des opinions comp^tentes d'une part et I'in-
d^niable int^t du commerce et de rinduetrie d'autre part, il n'est pas facile de trouver une
solution tout k fait satisfaisante. Avant d'airiver k une conclusion, je me permettrai d'ez*-
miner succinctement quelquee objections et quelques details importants.
La premiere objection qu'on eouldve imperturbablement est celle de la restriction de la
souverainet^ des £tats. Cest I'objection la plus habile, k une £poque oA I'augmentation des
rapports intemationauz nous devrait obliger de restremdre les aspirations particuli&ve at
faveur de toute I'humanit^; et sans cela, il ne s'agit pas dans le cas present d'une reetrictioo
d^ahonorante, impost par des &tats strangers, mais tout aimplement d'une restriction voloD-
taire.
£n ce qui conceme la seconds objection, celle qui vise ia convention des trente-quatn
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 163
£uts BUT lea dettes controctuelles et d'&pr^ l&quelle tout« convention nouvelle en faveur dea
crfanciers strangers serait superflue, puiequ'en cas de besoin ik peuvent ae servir d'un tribunal
international, je suia compl^temeDt d'accord avec Monsieur le rapporteur. II manque d'abord
k cette convention le caract^ d'obligation, en outre elle ne donne paa aux cr^anciers le droit
k Taction directe ne pouvont agir que par I'interm^diaire de leuis gouvemements. II n'en
est psa moins viai que la ausdite convention a £t£ un grand prt^rte dans ce domaine, et pour
le completer, il ne faut qu'driger le tribunal arbitral international dont nous nous ocoupona
en ce moment.
La troisiime objection qui £tait celle de I'lnstitut de Droit International conaiate dans ce
qu'on n'a paa beaoin de recourir dans lea cas mentionn^s k un tribunal ap^cial, puiaque les
tribunaux nati<maux eont en £tat d'offrir lee m&nes garanties. L'ind^pendance dee juges
envera les gouvemementa est tellement assurfe k notra 6poque dans tons les pays civiUste et
leur impartiality, leura hautea id£ea sur le droit et la justice sont eatim£s k vat degri, que lee
cr£ancien strangers n'ont aucune raiaon de les mettre en doute. En outre, la crtetion d'une
cour arbitrate Internationale serait I'expreaaion tacit« d'une m^Sance regrettable enveia lea
tribunaux nationaux. Ces objections ne aont pas tr^ conchiantea. En reconnaiaaant sans
reserve la haut« valeur morale des jugementa nationaux, il n'en est paa moina vrai qu'il exiate
d£jji des jugemente diff£rents, m6me opposia, rendua dana des cas an^<%uee suivant les in*
Urita dea pa^ en question. Et Ton n'a pas le droit de reprocher aux cr^aociers 6trangen
d'avoir plus de confiance dane dea juges qui ne sont pas influence par des pr^jug^, des aen-
timents patriotiques et un milieu trop tentant.
Et maintenant, j'arrive au point saillant, C'eet I'objection que lea aentencea d'un tri-
bunal arbitral international n'ont paa de sanction, elles ne sont pas exteutoirea et, par cons^
quent, elles n'auraient aucune valeur pratique pour des commerfants et dea industriela. Dans
le rapport dea "Alt«steii der Kaufmannachaft von Berlin," cette difficult^ est 61imin£e par
I'espoir que lea fltats se soumettront volontairement aux sentences du tribunal international.
C'est bien poadble et tout k fait sOr, en ce qui conceme lea pays moins puissants, mais la posai-
bilit^ d'une rtsiBtance fatale n'est pas et, h^lasl ne peut pas Atre exdue. Je n'ai pas I'intention
de diaeimuler ce cAt£ faible du tribunal k cr6er malgr6 toutes mes empathies pour lui. Maia
les jugements dea tribunaux nationaux peuvent-ila ofFrii plus de garantie? Si c'eat le tribunal
du propre pays, I'on ae trouve en face des mSmea difficult^ en ce qui concenie I'extoition; et
ei c'est le tribunal du pays d^iteur, c'eet Timpartialit^ qui eat en piril.
Pour terminer mon discoura, je ne veux que mettre en relief les intirfita des paya dibiteura.
Je le peux avec autant plus de droit parce que j'appartiens moi-mteie k un paya d^iteur, maia
i un pays dfibiteur hoimfite qui veut agir confonn&nent k ses devoirs et qui n'a aucune ob-
jection contre I'idte d'un tribunal impartial, tnalgt^ qu'il a d£j& perdu una partie de bod
territoire dana lea Carpathes, en consequence d'un jugement arbitral international. Nous
comprenona trie bien que la cr^tion d'un tribunal neutre peut avoir de f Acheuses consequences
pour certaines aspirations ill^times, mais nous comprenona ausst bien que les pays d&iteura
peuvent en tirer des avantages considerables en obtcnant des conditions moins on&euaea.
Messieurs, si j'ai commence mea paroles par des alluaions peaumistes molgrS mes con-
<Jusi<ma, c'^tait parce que je sais qu'un tel progrte vera la justice et vera la vict(»re du droit
anra k lutter contre tous les pr^jug^ et toutes les jalousies d'un faux patriotiame. Et je savais
ea outre que ce n'est pas seulement I'id^ d'un tribunal international qu'il faut rendre qympa-
thique aux difi^renta pays; il peut y avoir de a£rieuses divergences quant aux details de la
Question. Notre Congrte en tant que repr^ntant du commerce et de I'induatrie et comme
avant-garde des progrte intemationaux, n'a qu'& appuyer ttia chaleureusement la propoeition
du rapport auquel je m'attacbe au nom de toutes les chambres de commerce hongroises.
{TrantiaHon)
G«ntlemen:
There are two questions with which our congressea must busy themselves. One is
devoted to the actual exigencies and may be reduced to propositions which could be imme-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
M INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
diately realiEed. The other la not lees practical, but finds at present some objections,
prejudices and national jealousiee; and great efforts are needed to succeed against Ihe^e
almost unsunnountable difficulties. I am compelled to acknowledge with profound regret
that the very important question before us at present, namely, to replace the poflmbihtieB
of the arbitrary by principles of justice, impartiality and right, ia not yet realisable.
The question of an international tribunal (or arbitration of suits between citisese
and foreign States has already been discussed msny times before and has bad great par-
tisans for and against. In Germany especially it has been studied in a very tborou^
way and the general comicil of "Der MitteleuropHiache Wirtochaftsrerein in Deutocb-
land," which took place October 14, 1911, at Munich, has conaideied all the aiguxDeoQ
and all the objections. Notwithstanding the miquestionable sympathies of its metnba*.
it could not reach a practical result. I would mention also the very impressive caw
of the International Institute of Law, which in the congress held at Hamburg in ISSl
considered the subject and rejected the idea of &e creation of an International tribanal
of arbitration, beheving that this sort of suits should be looked after by the regular couita
■of justice.
In the pieaence then of this great divergence of competent opinioos on the <»« btod
and the imdeniable interests of commerce and industry on the other hand, it is not euj
to find a solution entirely satisfactory. Before arriving at a conclusion I will take the
liberty to examine briefly some of the objections and important details.
The first objection brought forth is that of the restriction of the sovereignty of the
State. That is the cleverest objection, just when the increase of international relations
should oblige us to restrict private aspirations in favor of the whole of r
without this it is not a question in the present ease of a dishonoring restriction, imposed
by foreign States, but simply a voluntary restriction.
As regards the second (dsjection, that which refers to the convention of tlie thirty*
four States on contract debts and accordii^ to which any new convraitian in favor of
foreign creditors would be superfluous, since when necessity arises they can use an bt-
temational tribunal, I am entirely in accord ynth the Reporter. This conventiott, at the
outset, lacks the character of obligation, and does not give the oreditoiB the ri|^t to an
immediate suit, since they can only act through the intervention of their govemmoitB.
It is none the less true that the above-mentioned convention has indicated great Tptog-
ress in this domain, and in order to complete it, it is ordy necessary to establidi the
international tribunal of arbitration with which we are occupying ourselves at present.
The third objection, which was that of the IntMnational Institute of Law, ooosists in
the fact that no need exists for having recourse in the cases mentioned to a special tii-
bunal, since the national tribunals are in a position to offer the same guaranty; that the
independence of the judges towards the governments is so well osured in our time in
all civilised countries, and their impartiality, their high ideals of right and justice, are
held in such esteem, that foreign creditora have no reason whatever to doubt them; that
the creation of an international court of arbitration would be the silent expneaaa of a
r^rettable mistrust of the national courts. These objections are not very ooticluaive.
While recognizing Fully the high moral value or worth of the natimud verdicts, it is none
the less true that there exist already verdicts that differ, that are wea contrary, i«d-
dered in similar cases according to the interest of the countries that are involved; and
no one has tlie right to reproach foreign creditwm for having more confidence in judges
who are not influenced by prejudices, patriotic sentiments and an envircmmait too full
of temptation.
And now, I come to the main point, the objection that the decrees erf an inter>
national court of arbitration are without sanction, that they are not executory, and oon-
sequently have no practical value for men in commerce and induet/y. In the report
of "Die Alteeten der Kaufmannschaft von Berlin," this difficulty is eliminated by the
hope that the governments will submit wiUin^y to the sentences of an intemaliopal
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 165
tribuiul. It 18 quite possible and perfectly sute, u far u it coaoema less powerful
countries, but the possibility of a fatal resistance is not and cannot, alast be pre-
cluded. I have no intention to conceal this weak side of a tribunal to be created, in
^ite of all my sympathy. But are iha verdieta of national courts ^le to offer better
guaranty? If it is the tribunal of one's own country, the same difficulties are es-
perienced in r^;ard to execution; and if it is the tribunal of the debtor's country, impar-
tiality is in peril.
In cloang I only wish to put in a conspicuous tight the interest (rf the debtor coun-
tries. I can do so with so much more rig^t seeing that I myself belong to such a coun-
try, but an honest d^tor country, which wishes to act conformably to its duties and has
no objection to the idea of any impartial tribunal, notwithstanding that it has lost a
part of ite t«rritory in the Carpathians as a result of an international verdict of arbi-
tration. We understand very well that the creation of a neutral tribunal may have bad
consequences for certain illegitimate aspirations, but we understand as well that the
debtor countries can gain considerable advantages by obtaining lees onerous conditions.
Gentlemen, if I have b^un my speech by pessimistic utterances in spite of my con-
clusions, it is because I kiMW that in such progress towards justice and towards the
victory of right we shall have to struggle against all the prejudices and all the jealousies
of a false patriotism. And 1 know besides that we must first have the different countries
sympathetic to the idea of an international court; that the serious divergences arising
in cormection with the details of the subject must be woriced out afterwards. Our Con-
gress, in BO far as it repreeente commerce and industry and is the vanguard of all interna-
tional progress, must warmly second the proposition reported, which I support in the
name of all the Hungarian Chambers of Commerce.
H. Engtae AUard, PraideiU of the Bdgian Chamber t^ Commerce <{f Parie
La cr^tion d'un tribunal arbitral international pour les litigea entre particuliers et £tats
ttrangers pr^occupe ft juste titre, depuis plusieuis ann£es, la plupart des £ltata civilises. C'est
depuia notre dernier congrds de Londres que la question a kik pos^e d'une mani^ precise par
I'honorable M. Xa. Lanite, le dSl^guS des fltats-Unis d'AmMque.
II nous a 6mis des consid6rations teUement Mdentes que dte ce momoit, notre o^union
Itait faite. Le commerce mondial liclamait I'^tablissement d'un tribunal intemational d'ar-
bitrage.
M. le rapporteur nous a ^mis de nouvellee considerations qui nous ont sattsfaite en toue
points; seulement, je trouve que devant I'unanimit^ de noe <q>iniona, I'unanimitfe de nos sen-
timenta, le rapporteur propose un ordre du jour qui me eemble prolonger beaucoup trop
longtempe la solution du probl^e que le commerce r^lame avec tant d'impatience. II vous
dit: Renvoyons i. nos chambres de commerce la question pour proposer & noe gouvemementa
respectifs le d£sir du commerce de chaque nation de voir s'£tablir un tribunal arbitral.
Sous ce rapport, je crois que la Ghambre de commerce de Paris, par I'organe de son dh-
Tout president, M. Charles Legrand, membre du comity permanent, & foiis le vceu qui devra
rallier tous nos suffrages, et qui pourra faire avancer la scdution du probl^me avec une n^tidit^
J'ai le bonhetir de pouvoir vous eitpoaer le vceu de la Chambre de commerce de Paris,
an nom de M. Charles Legrand, que son ttaX de sante a malheureusement empAch^ d'etre
paimi nous. Le v<bu de la Ghambre de corrmierce de Paris est formula d'une mani^re trte
precise. II expose: "Qu'une section ^conomique Internationale soit adjointe k la cour de La
Haye, et charge sp^cialement d'arbitrer souverainement, en ^uit^, tous lee difi^rends int^r-
nationaus d'ordre commercial et industriet, soit des fitats entre eux, soit des industriels avec
Im fitats strangers.
Digitized byGoOgIC
166 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
"Que lea membres de ce tribuikal atbitral international soient choieds parmi les membna
dee chambres de commerce et des aaaociationa oommercialee et industrielles."
Feniiett«z-inoi de lire la partie du r^tport de M. Charlea Leiptiod qui juEtifie U cr^
tioB de cette section commerciale intemationale, devant laquelle eeraient port^ lee diffgrenda
d'ordre iconomique et uon juridique, qui nous apparattrait comme juatifi^e par la diveisit^ des
l^islations commerciales, par I'importance de plus ea plua mondiale dee choeee de Tindustne
et du commerce et leur d^veloppement but tous les points du globe, par ce mouvanent coo-
sid^rable du cr^t qui Kdete entre tous lea £!tatB, qui rend de plus en plus n^ceaeaire la d^
fense des int^rSts dea partieuliers souacripteuia d'emprrmts Straogera, et enfin, par oette
tendance de plus en plus accentu^ d'un grand nombre d'Etate h cr6er, dinger et expkala
des entrepriees de commerce et d' Industrie.
"Nous ne miconnaissons pas le r61e important que les membres de ee nouveau tribunal
arbitral seraient appel^ & jouer, d'autant plus que, dans notre penate, ils auraient pour
mission d'^tprScier en fait et oon pas de juger en droit, d'interpr^ter les canventiona faitca
r^proquement et de bonne foi, les contrats bi-Ut^raui, et d'arbitrer en ^uit6 tous les oigage-
menta non observes et leura consequences.
"Leur sentence serait exMitoite sans opposition, recours, ni t^pel.
"Poui s'acquitter d'une telle mission, il y auiait lieu de faire appel & la competence d'in-
duatriels et de commer^ants, notables et experiments, choiais parmi les membres des chani-
brea de commerce dignee de collaborer k une oeuvre de pr^pitation et d'enteate universeUe
k tsbt6 des hommea eminents en droit international, jurisconsultes de la plus haute valeur, qui
constituent, k I'heure actuelle, la cour intemationale d'artitrage de La Haye.
"VouB appr^ciereK, messieurs, s'il n'appartient pas aux cluunbres de commerce du
monde de revendiquer, au point de vue int«mational, I'exerciee de prerogatives d'aibitrage et
de conciliation qui sont de leur essence mfime dans leur propre pays, en se renfermant dans le
rAle economique qui leur est assigne par les lois, sans empieter but le terrain juridique.
"Vous moDtierez ainsi, une fois de plus, la place primordiale que les commerfant« et ks
industriels tiennent dans I'univers, et la part importante que leurs repreaentanta attittes
doivent prendre deeormais dans les conseils de leurs gouvemements."
{Trarulaticn)
Gentlemen:
The creation ot an international tribunal of aibitration for suits between individuals
and foreign governments has for several years past with good reason commanded Uie
serious attention of most civilised States. Since our last London Congress the queatiou
have been proposed in a very pracise manner by the Hon. Mr. La Lanne, delegate
from the United States of America.
He has placed before us considerations so obvious, that from that mcaoent om
minds were made up. The worid'a commerce requires the establishment of an into^
national court of arbitration.
The Reporter has shown us new considerations which have satisfied us fuDy; oely
I find that before our unanimous opinions, our unanimous sentiments, the Reporter
proposes an order of the day which protracts to a large extent the solution of the
problem which commerce requires with so much impatience. He tella you: Let us stnd
to our chambeiB of commerce the question in order to propose to our respective govent-
menta the wish of the commerce of every natiim to see the establishment of an arbi-
tration court.
In Uiis respect I believe tliat the Chamber of Commerce of Paris, throu^ its
devot«d President, Mr. Charles Legrand, member erf the Permaikent Committee, has ex-
pressed a feeling with which we are all in hearty accord, and which irill be of great aaeiB-
tance in the rapid solution of the problem.
I have the good fortune to be able to e3q>re8B the wish of the Paris Chamber of
Commerce, in the name of Mr. Charles L^p-and, whose state at health has tmfor-
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMEHCE 167
timately prevented Iub being vdih us. The wish of the Paris Chamber of Conunerce is
' expreesed in a, very preciae manner, namely, "That an economic international section
be associated with The Hague Court and entrusted especially to aibitrste, in sovereign
manner, in equity all international differences of a commercial and industrial order,
either (tf States between themselvea, or of manufacturers with fcoeign States.
"That the nmnbers of tiiis international tribunal of arbitration be chosen from
among the members of tlie chambers of commerce and' of the commercial and indus-
trial associations."
Permit me to read to you the part of the report of Mr. Charies L^rand which
juatiGee the creation of this international, commercial section, before which differences
(tf economic and non-judicial order would be brought. It 4>pean to us justified by the
diversity of commercial l^islation, by the importance, more and more world-wide, of
indnstay and commerce and their development on all the points of the globe, by this
extensive movement of credit which now exists between all countries, which renders all
the more neceesaiy the protection of the interests of individuals, subscribers to foreign
loans, and lastly by the tendency more and more accentuated of a great many States,
to creste, direct and exploit commerical and industrial enterprises.
"We do not Blight the important part the members of this new tribtmal of arbi-
tration would be called upon to play, and the more so, since, in our mind, their miaaion
would be to appreciate in fact, not judge at law, to interpret the agreemente made re-
ciprocally and in good faith, the bi-lateral contracts, and to arbitrate in equity all the
pledges not observed and their consequences.
"Their decision would be executory without opposition, recourse or ^tpeal.
"To fulfil such a miaaian, it would be advisable t« call upMH competent manu-
facturers and merchants, well known and experienced, chosen from among the members
of the cbambera of commerce, found worthy to coUaborate, working towards a univeraal
entente, with men eminent in international law, jurists of the highest worth, such as
now constitute the International Court of Arbitration of The Hague.
"You will appreciate, gentlemen, whether it does not rightly belong to the cham-
bers of oomnterce of the world to ask, from the international point of view, the exercise
of arbitration and conciliation, which is fundamental to them in tlieir own countries,
Gtmfining themselves to the economic rOIe which b assigned to tliero by the laws,
without encroaching on the legal ground.
"You will tiius show once again the prominent part that merchants and manu-
facturers hold in the universe, and the important part that their ^tpointed representar
tives must hereafter take in the counsels of their government."
H. le President: Je n'ai plus d'inscrite pour la question qui est r^ellement I'ordre du
jour: "Oration d'un Tribunal arbitral international, pour litiges entre particuliers et Cltats
itrangeis."
Nous Bommes done saisiB des oouclunons de M. Apt, qui dit qu'il eat desirable de voir
Aablir un orgaiUBme de I'csptee; et il ajoute qu'il serait peut-£tre opportun de demander aux
Gtat»-Unis de prendre I'initiative de convoquer une conf&«nce.
Nous n'aycms pas la question & I'ordre du jour, Tn ai ^ je prends sous forme de motion les
Hem que I'on pourrtut 6mettre au sujet de voir I'aibittage s'etablir entre commer^ants
d'abord, peut-Mre plus loin aprte. J'ai, au sujet de ce d^sir, une demande de parole de la
part de M. Robhbto Pozzi.
{TrcauiaUm)
I have nobody else <m the list cm the question which is actually the order of the
day: namely, "The Creation of an Intenialionl Tribunal of Arbitration for Suits between
Individuals and Foreign States."
We have before us, therefore, the conclusions of Mr. Apt, irito avga that it is
Digitized byGc50gIC
168 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
demrable to aee the esUblishment of a tribunal of Uua kind, and adds that it would p«r>
haps be opportune to ask the United States to take the imtiative for the eaamkmg of
B conference.
While it is not on the order of the day, I take in the form t^ a motion wiidtee that
couid be expressed on the subject of arbitration, as meant to be establiahed between
merchants first, perhaps extended lat«r. Along this line I have a request for the floor
from Mr. Robebto Pozzi.
H. Hohtaio Poid, Intentational Cotton Federation of Milan, Italy
Mr. Poui made extended remarks in Italian, summarised later, and aSend the foUowioK
motion;
"La FM^tion Internationale des Associations Patnnalee de Filateurs et Manuf actuiien
de Coton, en exprimant la plus vive approbation k la proposition dee 'Xlteaten der Kauf-
mannschaft von Berlm' k I'objet de la creation d'un tribunal d'arbitrage pour lee diS&ends
entre particuUera et Etata Strangers, recommande aux eoins du comity ex&utif dee congiH
I'Stude de la question relative k 1 um&cation des diff6rents syst&nes de droit en matiftre (Tar-
bitnue entte particuliere, surtcut au sujet de la validity ou non de la elwiae compromiasoiie;
prie k oonpte de vouloir bien prendre en consideration la question et la passer au bureau
afin qu'elle soit pr£sent£e a.'prfa I'instruction au prochain congrte."
"The Intemational Federation of the Pabonal Aeeooiations of Weavers and Manu-
facturers of Cotton, express the keenest approbation of the preposition of ' Die Xltesten
der Kauf mannachaf t von Berlin' for the creation of a tribunEd of arbitratioofor the differ-
ences between individual and foreign States, recommends to the attention of the Executive
Committee of the Congresses the study of the question concemiiw the unification of the
different systems of law, in the matter of aH>itration between individuals, eqpeciallj as
Xds the validity or otherwise of the clause of compromise, and requests tne Congreas to
into consideration this question, and to refer it to the desk so that it may be preamted
to the next Congreaa after instiuction."
11. le PrMdemt: M. Poui porte I'adbMon de la FMeration suadite k la pnqtositian
relatiye i. la oration d'un tribunal d'arbitrage pour les diff&oids entre partieuliers et £tats
strangers; oependant, le thtaie ne repr^aente qu'un caa partjculier de la plus vaste questioo de
i^ement dee (luestioni qui puiasent suigir entre oitoyens de diff^tenta pays, ou entn les pays
eux-m6mes.
Ia question a dijk et£ touchy par lea orsleurs prScMents. M. Poui insiste k ce que soicnt
unifides lea di£F6rent«s l^slations au sujet de I'arbitrage de droit priv6, legislation qui prisente
les plus notables disparity. Us s'entretiennent surtout but lee inconvduents auiquels dmine
lieu le fait que telle legislation ne reconnalt pas la validity de la clause comprominoire, et
propose une motion afin que la question soit examinie pei le comity ex6cutif et portte k la
discussion au prochain congrte. II ajoute — ce qui est important k connaltre — que le cont-
meroe intemational de coton, en Europe, k la 6uit« de longues etudes, a pu obtenir I'^tprobatioa
de toutes les associations cotonniSres k un r^ement de I'arbitrage qui va entrer en vigueur
dke le mois de novembre de cette aimee.
Je remercie M. Po»i de son interessante communication. D a'agit d'lme motion avee
renvoi au comite permanent, pour faire eventuellement de cette question I'objet d'un ordre
du jour du prochain coi^r^.
M. PoEsi a d^eloppe tris largement aa propoeitioD. Je ne sais si le service de st&io-
graphie a pu prendre le texte italien. Je le prierais en tons cas de bien vouloir completer le
lAnimtf qu'il vient de nous donner en fran^ais. II serait aussi desirable, H me semble, — si
c'est I'ftvis du congris — d'avoir £galement un court rfeume dans lea autree Ungues, afin
que ceux qui ne comprennent ni le fran^ais ni ritaliw puiseent quand mbne Atre au courant
de la propontion. Un de noe colldguee allemands du comity pramanent voudra bien nous
dire en quelques mots, en allemand, le resume de la propoeitian de M. Poui. Je pense que tous
lee memLres du eongrha auront (unsi satisfactitm.
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMEKCE 169
{Trwuiation,)
Mr. PoEzi brings the support of the aboTe-mentioaed Federation to the proposition
concerning the creation of the court of arbitration for differencea between individuals and
foreign States. What has been said merely suKests the great differences which may
arise between citiiens of different countries, or between the countries themselves.
The question has already been discussed by the preceding speakers. Mr. Poiri
insista that the different l^ielatitai on the subject erf arbitration be unified, such legislation
DOW preeentii^ the moat noticeable disparitieB. He emphasizes especially the incon-
veniences which arise from the fact that such legielation does not recognise the validity
of the clause of compromise, and offers a motion that the question be examined by
the executive committee and brou^t up Cor discussion at the next Congress. He adds
— and this is important to notice — that the international cotton business in Europe,
after a long study, has obtained the approbation of all the cotton associationa to a ruling
of arbitration which will be enforced nert November.
I thank Mr. Poui for his int«resting communication. He oSen a motion with refei~
ence to the Permanent Committee making eventually of this question the subject of an
order of the day at the next Congress.
Mr. Poui has developed very extensively his proposition. I do not know if the
stenogn4>hic service has been able to take down the Italian text. I will request him to
kindly complete the r^eumd which he has just given us in French. It would also seem
desirable, — if it is the opinion of the Congress, — to have a short t^eum6 in the other
languages, so that those who do not understand French or Italian could be informed
on the proposition. One of my German colleagues of the Permanent Committee will
now tell us in a few words, in German, the r^aumg of Mr. Possi's proposition. I tliiak
that all the members of the Congress thus will understand it.
Dr. Soetbeer (Berlin) Obersetit die AusfOhrungen des italienischen Rednera wie folgt:
Der Redner stdlt sich auf den Standpunkt, dall der Vorschlag dee Herto Dr. Apt gut-
iDheiBen sei. Hauptsftcblich aber betont er, daO man auch ein Schiedsgericht iwischen
Kaufleut«n sum Qegenstande der ErArterung machen soUe. Er weiet darauf hin, daB eohieds-
gerichtliohe Enteclwidungen fOr Streitigkeiten twischen Kaufleuten wtinschenswert seien, daS
sber nineit grofie Schwierigkeiten fOr die Durchfllhrung dieses Gedankena beetAnden. Die
Sehwiraigkeitan findet er haupta&chlich daiin, daC es Btaaten gibt, welche Vereinbarungen
fOr schied^eiichtliobe Entscbeidungea ttberfaaupt nicht anei^ennen, und dafl andere Staaten
gewiase Bediugungen stellen, von denen sie die Aneikennung abbftngig machen. Hieraus
entstinden gioBe Schwierif^eiten, und es eischeine wUnschenawert, dieee Schwierigkeiten lu
beeutigen.
Da aber dieeer Gegenstand nicht auf der Tagesordnung des heutigen Kongreases stehe,
sdit der Vorschlag dee Redners nur dahin, daQ bei dem st&ndigen Koniitee eine Prflfung der
Frage stattfinden mOge, damit eie gegebenenfalls auf die Tagung des D&chsten Kongreeees ge-
setit werde.
(TrowWum)
Dr. BovTBEEB of Berlin translates the remarks of the Italian speaker as follows:
The speaker is of the opinion that the proposal of Dr. Apt is to be approved.
Mainly, however, he emphasises the desirability of an expresion in favor of arbitration
between buaiueee men although at the present time there are great difficulties in the
way of carrying this into execution. He considers that the difSculties mainly consist in
the fact that there are States which do not recognize agreements for arbitral justice
at all, nhSe other States preacrSie certain conditions upon which they make its recogni-
tJm dependent. This creates great difficulties and it appears desirable to remove them.
As, however, this subject is not on the order of the day of the present Congress,
the speaker proposes that the Permanent Committee should make an investigation of
this question, so that it might eventually be placed on the program of the next Congress.
Digitized byGoOgIC
170 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
Ur. lAivrence V. Benet, American Chamber <ff Commerce of Parit
Mr, nhiLir mftn*
After most cueful cooBideratioa of the masterly and exhaustive report of Dr. Apt, the
delegation of the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris have requested me to place be-
fore you certain considerations which may throw a little light on this subject from another
point of view. It is in no spirit of opposition to the principles of arbitration that we are in-
clined to believe that the sulsject as stated is not of general and immediate interest to cham-
bers of commerce, but that in a modified form it might become a most fruitful subject of
discussion at a subsequent Cougtesa. Three reascma have led ua to this conclusion: —
Firtl: It is not apparent, nor has it been demonstrated, that there is any great or utgent
need of such a tribunal on the part of individuals or corporations engaged in what is generally
recognized as commercial relations with foreign governments. I may say, that I have been
engaged for neariy thirty years in a business whose dealings have been almost exclusvdy
confined to governments; tbat our transactions have aggregated in that period very many
millions of doUais, and have involved relations with nearly every government in the world,
recognised or unrecognized, rich or bankrupt, stable or on the verge of levoluticm; and dvir-
ing that entire time I can only recall two instances of uncollectible claims, and tJiese fw rela-
tively unimportant amounts. Even should such a tribunal be constituted, a man of btutDcn
vitb his future bef<»e him might long hesitate before haling a government before a coort of
international arbitration or international equity.
Second: Such a court might even be of direct danger to the interests of individuals hav*
ing commercial relations with foreign governments. It is hardly conceivable, if the ri^t be
given individuals to summon governments before such a court, that governments sbould oot
enjoy a corresponding right to summon individuals or corporations before the same tiibunaL
No man of business can lightly contemplate such a possibility, aside from all question of the
expense involved, in time and money.
Third: The establisbment of such a court seems to be beyond the range of present poeei-
bility. It would appear to ns visionary to expect that any government would agree to sub-
mit to the j'ursidiction of such a court, unless all other countries had made a like agreement;
and it is hardly probable that any country with highly developed legal machinery tor obtain-
it^ justice against the government thereof, would lightly abandon such practice. If such a
court were established, it is more than probable that claims antedating the eatablJHhmmt of
the court would be excluded from the jurisdiction thereof, and in such case our present in-
terest in such a court might perhaps lose much <rf its enthusiasm.
FinaUy: We believe that the subject in its present form is one that is so foreign to the
usual activities of chambers of commerce that better wisdom might be to leave its diseuanon
to international lawyers and others more competent in the premises.
If, however, the subject could be modified to read: "International Court of Arbitration
for disputes between individuals or between cmporations of difierent nationalities," then we
believe that the subject would become one capable of more intelligent discussion by chambers
of commerce, and one which might lead to results of the greatest value to all engaged in
foreign trade and commerce. In this couiection it is worthy of note that the Chamber of
Conmierce of the State of New York, the American Chamber of Conomerce of Paris, aivl
other organizations in close touch with international trade have already provided means for
the voluntary arbitration of commereial disputes between individuals of the same or of differ-
ent nationaUties, and we therefore strongly advocate giving a broader and more authoritative
scope to this more comprehensive principle of commercial arbitration.
Once the authoritative arbitration of commercial disputes has been realized, success will
surely be found for the settlement of such special eases as are covered by Dr. Apt's sugges-
tions.
H. le President; Cette motion est done prise en consid^tion pour renvoi au comity
permanent.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 171
J'ai, d'aube part, une demande de parole de la part de certaina de nos coll^guea de Boston,
toujoura BUT cett« question de Tarbitrage, mais port^ un peu plus haut. Je donne dmo
volontiera la parole k M. Edwin D. Mead.
(Trarulotton)
This motion then ia taken under consideration for reference to tbe Pennanent
Conunittoe.
1 have a request for the floor on the part of certain of our colleagues in Boston, still
on this question of arbitration, but cairied a little higher. I gladly give the floor to Mr.
Edwin D. Mead.
Mr. Bdirin D. H«id, Boalon Chamber qf Commerce
Mr. Preddeot and GenUemen:
I am very glad that after the g^ieral consideration of international arbitration in previ-
ouB conferences, we have htd the subject introduced here to-day of the settlement of cases
between States and individuak. I have listened with great interest to Dr. Apt's paper and I
am gUd that the subject has been introduced here on American soil by a German interna-
tional thinker. Dr. Apt has quoted Dr. Zom of Bonn, for whom all men of international
acquaintance in America have such high regard, and he mentioned Dr. Zorn'e desire that
the basis of this international court should be much wider than that proposed from Berlin.
He was not speaking of the outline by Dr. Apt, but of the previous suggestions of " Die Xlte-
Rten der Kaufmannschaft von Beriin." There are many <A us who wish that this whole dis-
cunion might have had a broader basis; and it was expected that the general question of
arbitration, as a result of the action at London and subsequently at Paris, would have been
open for discussion ss a regular part of the program; but it was ordered otherwise.
A great step has been taken leading I think far more directly than Dr. Apt may think,
to the end that he has in view; and 1 am glad, I repeat, that Dr. Apt made his proposal cm
American soil. I wish, as an American, to express the thought which I believe is in the minds
of international thinkers in common, that the proposition for the court of arbitral justice
which was made at The Hague by our American representative, Mr. Choate, and ably aec-
onded by Baron Marshall von Biebetstein, the leading German delegate at the Second Hague
Conference, now the Getman Ambassador at London, and adopted by the conference, may
soon become an accomplished fact.>
The Secretaiy of the Department of Commerce and Labor said here this morning that
commerce is always the pioneer. In this matter I wish to remind you that commerce has not
been the pioneer. Here the governments have been distinctly in the lead; but the men of
commerce in this world and particularly this great assembly, have the opportunity to creato
the strong public opinion which will reinforce the govetnments in this endeavor.
We remember here in America that it was our former great Secretary of Stato, Elihu
Root, who was the author of the idea of the establishment of a court of arbitral justice, and
we remember how he appealed to us all to create that public opinion which should thus rein-
force the governments in their efforts for its eBtsblishment. In his paper Dr. Apt has referred
to the Court of Central America at Cartago, Costa Bica, established by five States, which
has the power to decide not only disputes between those States, but also the disputes between
private persons and the governments of Centr^ America. But he did not make a far greater
appeal, and one far more illuminating; he did not refer to the Supreme Court of the United
States. The Supreme Court of the United States exists not only for the purpose of adjudicat-
ing cases between states, but between individuals and states and between individuals of dif-
ferent states, as well as between the states and the nation. Now I believe that the court of
arbitral justice, when it is established, will in time have its jurisdiction and its functions so
in Biab«nt«la ^ptsnd in the btsoIdc Banptptn ol ths day on which
DigilizedbyGoOgle
172 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
extended u wiU assure that it will cover all these cases, and I believe that that oourt of ari»-
tral juBtice will be the true instruinentality which will accomplish the great end which I>.
Apt has in view, and which it is so necessary to emphasiie.
I do not believe in advocating a new court at this time, instead of pressing for tlie fotmd-
ing of the court of arbitral justice which has already been decreed at the Second Hague Cod-
ference, and awaits only its organization. I beUeve that in urging stron^y tlie establiehment
of the court of arbitral justice we shall best accomplish what Dr. Apt has at heart. Upon
this matter there is room for Intimate differences of opinion. But there is no room for dif-
ference of opinion I think as to the importance bo conunercial men of the eetablishmoit of
the court of arbitral justice. The commercial bodies of America are a unit in this thing; and
it is the duty of commercial men everywhere to hasten the establishment of the court. I
therefore venture to submit the following brief resolution :
"The Fifth International Congress of Chambers of Commerce, representing the great
interests of industrv and commerce which ore increasing so rapidly the interdependence of
nations and demand, so imperatively for their advancement and prosperity the i>eace and order
of the world, ui^es the commercial organizations of all countries to earnest efforts for tie
widest extention of arbitration to the settlement of international disputes and for the eariieet
possible establishment of the Court of Arbitral Justice provided for by the last Hague Caa-
lerence."
H. le Prfisident: Cette resolution, comme la pi^c^ente, ne peut £tre prise que pour
notification au comit4 permanent. La question n'est paa it I'ordre du jour et nous D'avons
pas k voter sur cette resolution.
Nous odmiions beaucoup les bonnes raisons que vient de nous donner M. Mead. Sa re-
solution eat done k tranametti«, pour notification, au comity pennanent.
J'ai aussi une demande de parole de la part de M. EnwiN Gum.
This resolution, like the preceding one, can only be regarded as a notification to the
Permanent Committee. The question is not on the order of the day and we do not have
to vote on this resolution.
We admire greatly the excellent reasons that Mr. Mead has just given us, aiMl the
matter will be transmitted, for notification, to the Permanent Committee.
I have also a request that the floor be given to Mr. EnwiN Gink.
Mr. Edwin Ginn, BoOon Chtmber of Commenx
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
The subject before ua tonlay is one that affects all nations alike. It ia for the interest
of all that peace and order should reign and anything that will contribute to that end abould
receive serious consideration. Commercial bodies should use tbeir utmost influence to bring
about the establishment of a judicial court and urge their governments to take advantage of
it in all future difBcuIties. Such a court composed of the ablest jurists in the world woukl
naturally command the confidence of all nations.
I am iu hearty sympathy with every effort in this direction, but it seems to me we should
go even further and bend our energies to the education of the people to a right idea of inter-
national relations.
It ia the claim of military men that large armaments are necessary to preserve the peace
of the world, — a sort of insurance premium paid to secure it. This assumption is not woi-
lAQted by tike facts. Large armaments inspire distrust, fear and antagonism, ctmditiona
directly opposed to good will and peace. It is natural, peritapa, that the nations ahould fed
that they must rely for safety upon a physical force, for until recently such protection has
been necessary. But now the individual nations compel their subjects to settle their diq«t(B
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 173
in the courtfl; and tlie nations themselvea alumld lefer their difiScultiea to a judicial court for
aettJement.
The mihtary syBtem is ft tremendous power to cope with, for it is supported by such vast
intefeete that it is almost overwhelming. Five million men are constantly employed in the
armies of the world and twenty-five million a part of the time, all of whom are looking to the
trade of war for their promotkm, as a business, and their families are dependent upon their
aalariee tor a livelihood. Then, nearly two thousand millions of dollars' worth of contracts
are given out each year for the building of war ships and for military suppUea of all kinds,
wtiich men are seeking to secure for the profit that is in them. They are pursuing this busi-
ness as they would any otiier, and it is only light to state that the majority probably consider
their occupation entirely legitimate and necessary for the protection of the world. It has
been stated that nearly one-aixth of the people of the various countries are financially intereBt«d
in keeping up the present war eyBt«m. When we consider these things it gives ua an ineigbt
into the tremendous obstacles against any change.
What have we to oppose them? A handful of men who are willing to put their hands in
their pocketa to advance the cause of peace, with a very limited amount ot money. Not one
person in ten tluusand ever contributes a dollar to further the interests of peace. Each goes
about his daily work as if war did not exist, as if it were not the greatest scourge that man-
kind has to endure. The best men and women desire that thia murderous system be done
away with; that the arnuunenta be reduced; that so many men need not be takm from their
liomes to be supported in idleness at the expense of those who are left behind, aikd that so
many livee need not be sacrificed in the strength of eariy manhood. But while this feeling is
prevalent, it is latent and a change cannot be brought about suddenly by a few good speeches
and books scattered in a limited way. No matter how good the speeches made or the books
pabMied, tbey do not reach the public to any great extent, and as a general rule only come
to the attention of those who need no conversion.
Our conventions ne^ect one of the most important objects to be attained, that of ap-
pointing a committee of ways and means to discuss matters from a financial atandpotnt.
The woi^ heretofore has been too indefinite, too limited. It has been largely undertaken by
■tbolara and theorists in an academic way rather than on business principles. The co-oper-
ation (A men of finance has not been secured. The best plans that can be made and the beet
men that can be engaged will be of Uttle avail unless funds are available for carrying on the
woric, I do not underrate the effort to arouse the people to activity through conventions, for
everything that creates interest in this great cause is helpful, but sudden or temporary emotion
dies away as suddenly as it is created. The only way to succeed is by educating the people
and this education must of necessity be of alow growth. Not until men shall have learned to
subordinate individual preferences and selfish interests, their pride and their passion, to the
B^ieral welfare of the pe<^le, and can be brou^t to work shoulder to shoulder for the highest
inteteste of mankind will rai^ progress be made toward permanent peace.
The individual nations have been treating peace and war as a national affair. Each has
felt it oeceseaiy to arm itself to ward off attacks from all sources. The larger the armaments,
the greater the fear of each otiier, and this fear can ordy be disaipatod by inauguratmg some
Qslem of cooperation which ahall moke the interests of all nations identical. Would it not be
well for us to join hands and see how much benefit each can secure for the other? The nations
will not cut down their armies voluntarily until provision has been made for securing protec-
tion in some other way. This can be done by establishing a small international force for the
preservation of peace, consisting of a certain proportion, say ten per cent, of the armaments
of each nation. Such an arrangement would in no way disturb the relative efGciency of exist-
ing armies. Hub international force, instead of being organised on the selfish plan of each
nation securing as much as possible for itself, should be oi^;aniied on the broader plan of pro-
tection for all, which also would insure greater protection for the individual nation. Any
State tiiat is working for the good of all is as much greater in its efficiency as the whole is
greater than its parts. Such a wholesome power would strengthen with the years and when
Digitized byGoOgIC
174 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
it had been in operation Bufficiently long to Batiafy the nations that they oould rest aeeuirij
upon its protection, they would not continue to tax themselves so heavily for national arma-
ments no longer needed and those armaments would gradually disappear.
Why should there not be a repiesentative parliament of the nations summoned to settle
on some plan of co-operation, similar to The Hague Court? It is not a very great Bt«p from
the one to the other. Then we should have the three necessary branches <rf a wftrld federation,
— the legislative, the judicial and the executive. When such an organisatii^ is f<Mined, the
peace of the world will be assured.
In this work of education we shall need to ayail ourselves of every avenue of influence,
and first among these ia schools. Here is our greatest opportunity for impressing upon the
young minds, — those who will soon undertake the world's work, — the true piincq>les whid
should govern international affairs.
Our attention should be directed especially to the couisea of study in order that we may
improve conditions in the schools. It is surprising that our children should receive the im-
pression that war has contributed cardinaLy to the development of mankind when so large a
part of OUT histories and so much of the literature studied are devoted to detuls of the battle-
field, — the picturesque features of war, — the maraballing of soldiers in glittering aimor,
stirring music and brilliant charges, — everything to inspire the young to become a part of
tiOB magnificent display. The other side of the picture should be as (carefully pcHtrayed, —
the return of the regiments reduced to a tenth of their original number, maimed and feeble,
carrying torn and bloodstained battle flags. That side of the picture is necessary for a proper
comprehension of the meaning of war. That a hundred thousand men should have been
killed upon the battlefield should be mentioned, not as something praiseworthy, but as ft
great lose to the world. History should dwell largely upon the peaceful punuite of life wfaidt
have made for growth and progress in civilisation, — agriculture, trade, commeToe, scbo<^
science.
Then there are the churches which come in contact with all classes and condititxis of men
the world over. Here is a tremendous influence that should be taken into oonmdeiatian.
The press is a most powerful influence in this educational woric, and one that the worid
responds to most readily. Editors should be urged to use the greatest care in the selectkm of
material for their pubUcations, and to eliminate as far as possible such matter as would incite
the people of one nation against another. Those who write for the newBp4»er8 i&auld have a
eerioua appreciation of their responsibihty.
Another great body of men of great influence are the merchants, the msnufactureis add
financiers of the world. They hold within their grasp the means for carrying on war, and they
should have the fullest information bearing upon this subject in order that they may see the
wisdom of withholding their support from a system that is exercising such a baneful influence.
In this connection I would recommend heartily Norman Angell's book, "The Great Illu-
sion," for it shows very clearly the impotency and utter unfitness of the old war syston in
this modem commercial age when investments are so largely international and whcm the
real commercial interests of one nation are the interests of all the workl. If nations would
put more money into peace budgets instead of so much into war buc^^ts and devote them-
selves to constructive measures in bringing about mutual good underatanding, it would be
the chief and the effective instrumentality at the present time. The court must take the
place of the gun in settling disputes among nations, as it has already done in setthng disputes
among individuals.
When the well-organised war powers and selfish interests are united in taxing the whole
world yeariy for the enormous sum of nearly two Hiousand million dollara, what will a few
million dollars do to meet this enormous forceT It will take many mtUions to carry on thk
woik successfully and the funds given by a few generous people are wholly inadequate. More-
over it would not be well for the people to feel that this responsibility had been taken tmm
their shoulders and that the woric could be accomplished without their assistance. A person
is interested in that in which he has an investment, either in time or mcmey, and it ia thia
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 175
inTestment, tikis responsibility, that the friends of peace muHt take upon tfiemselvefl if this
ptoblem is ever to be solved. Great as is the power of moral and int«IlBctual forces, we have
before us a task that few comprehend. It is for us not only to inBtitut« the measures neces-
sary to curtail this awful waste of life and property, but to bring conviction to the masses
that this question cannot be handled successfully by a few people. It is a woric, a most diffi-
cult woric, for the whole worid. We must do our part towards bringing the subject so force*
tafiy before each and eveiy one that all will feel that it is necessaiy to take a hand in it.
It would be veiy desirable that this Congress should pass resolutions creating in each
country, better still in each organiaation, a committee to take in hand this great question, to
study it as the one problem above all otheis affecting their own private interesta, and to adopt
such measures as will secure the means to prosecute succe^ully the woric.
These are some of the considerations which command commercial bodies everywhere to
work earnestly for the system of arbitration and international law to supplant Uie war eysUaa
and the next important step to this is the establishment of the Court of Arbitral Justice.
(Applause.)
H. le PrCddent: Messieurs, j'ai laiss^ la parole express^ment & IlKoiorable M. Edwin
Ginn, d'abord parce que c'est un de nos hAtes de Boston, ensuite, parce que c'est un philan-
thiope bien connu, le fondateur de la "Fondation Universelle pour la Paix." Je le remercie
des bonnes paroles qu'il a bien voulu nous apporter, et je propose de verser le texte de Bon
discours aux documents, et le comity permanent en fera le meilleur ua^e.
La parole est maintenant k M. Sahuel Capbn.
(TVonatolum)
I have given the floor to the Hon. Mr. Edwin Ginn, in the first place because he
is one of our Boston hosts, and moreover because he is a well-known ptuUnthropist, the
founder of the "Worid Peace Foundation." I thank him for the good words he has
kindly brought us, and wiU refer his address to the Permanent Committee for their
careful consideration.
Mr. Saiiubl Capbn now has the floor.
Ur, Sanrad B. Capen, BoOon Chamber 0/ Commerct
Mr. Preaident and Gentlemen:
The hour is so late that what I shall have to say will be very brief. Before speaking of
the Mohonk Arbitration CcMiference 1 wish to second the broad resolution that Mr. Mead
has introduced.
It is a matter of great interest that there are two hundred boards of trade and chambers
of commerce representing every large city in this country that are practicBlly affiliated with
the Mohonk Arbitration Conference and are pledged practically to support the United States
government in every move that it makes in the effort to settle every international diSereaoe
by a court of arbitral justice. I have here and will leave with the Secretary the businesa
men's resolutions offered at Mohonk, and also a tapy of the report of the last Lake Mohonk
Conference. As an evidence of this position on the part of tbcae organizations, let mc call
attention also to the fact that nearly two himdred boards of trade endorsed the pacta with
other nations made by Presidoit Taft a few months ago, and these two hundred organiEations
repreaented cities having a, population of twenty millions of people.
It is certainly true in this country that the business men and the financial interests rec-
ogniie that anything which interferes with peace — a war or a rumor of war — throws all
business into (Mnfusion. But the thing to which I wish especially to call attention is this.
We glory in the position which the business interests in this country and other countries
have taken on this great movement; but I want to make this one point — that in keeping
our leadership we are going to have splendid allies. In the first place, we will have with us
Digitized byGoOgIC
176 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
if we take this etrong position all the labor iiit«r«(i1«, for theae men i«oogniae tliat tliey are
the greateat aufFeren when there ia a contest. And in this countiy I am very glad to say that
we have on our (dde the Grand Anny of the Republic. Last Memorial Day I ^>oke before
one of their Posts, and I never bad a more interested audience than those men who had fou^t
tbrou^ the great Civil War. For those men knew that General Sherman was ri^t when
he said "War ia hell," and they did not wi^ their children or their grandchildten to
suffer what they suffeivd. One of the beet addreeeea at-Mohonk this year was made by cne
of the admiralB of the United States Navy. Not only that, but we have with ua the schook
and the colleges and the universities of this country. They are being lined up back <rf this
great movement. These young people are beginning to see that the university in fuU opera-
tion is OS much a matter to ^ly in as a war ship, and it will Uve forever, while the war ship
will be on the Bcr^)-heap within twenty years. And not only that, but we have back of us all
the great movements which are represented by Mr. Ginn's world peace movement, and also
by the money which is invested under Mr. Carnegie. We have the Worid's Student Federa-
tion, and especially in these recent days the great CbriEtian Endeavor Union, which numbers
79,000 eoeietiee in every country represented here, with four millions of members, and Uiese
young men and young women are being pledged to this great movement. So I submit, busi-
nesH men, that we want to hold the right of the line. We have hod it thus far. We have these
great allies. But let us take a strong position in this Congress. Let us pass some resolutions
of this kind and strike a note that will be heard round the world. We have got through the
age of simple toleration and competition; we have come to co-operation. Nationalism is a
great word, but there is a greater word — that is, intetnationaliam. We learned in the last
generation to be neighbors; we want out of this great Congress more and more to let the
world know that we are brothers. (Applause.)
f Trade, Premdrnt NatUmal Board of Trmk,
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Congress:
Two years ago, when in London, t had the honor of proposing the resolution irtiich is
now before you. While it has been modified, I want to second it in ite modification, i<a I
think the resolution before the Convention b>day is ideal. It provides for the settlenwDt of
cases between nations, and it provides for the settlement of cases between individuals and
nations. Nothing could be more ideal than thia proposition. I believe if the business men
represented here, who to my mind represent the most intelligent set of merehonts, manufoo-
tureiB and bankers <d the world, will go out with a decisire ^>proval of this rescdution, the
nations of the world, the diplomata of the world, will bow down their heads in req>eet to the
decisions of thia powerful Congress.
I have very little t« aay except to uidorse these resolutions. But after offering the reso-
lution in London two years ago, I was delighted to see that my friends from Germany woe
highly pleased with tiie thou^t, and they took it in the proper spirit; and to-day tfie eloquent
papers that have been read show the prc^p-ess of the wodd and the thought of an oibitnl
court of justice. It is not necessary, if that court ia created, that all cases diall, nolens volen^
come before it. Such coses as two nations wish to have settled can voluntarily be taken to
that court. It is not necessary that under the creation of such a tribunal we must have dis-
armament, but if the tribunal is created the result will be in the future the gradual disarma-
ment of the nations, for it will be cheaper, it will be more honorable to try the cases before on
arbitral court of justice than it will be to fight them out and stand after the fif^t in the same
unh^ipy position towards each other as before.
Before I close I want to read a abort letter from Secretary Knox which shows the views
of our great Secretary of State, following the views of his predecessors. This letter he writes
me on April 26:
"I sincerely hope that a resolution at the International C(»igress of Chambers of Com-
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 177
merce urgiiig the eBtabliahment of & pOTmaneiit arbitral court of justice will be paaBed, and I
will feel very hopeful when such a bapp)' event occurs" — and he adds in a paientheeiB that
be has had from hia identical note urging Uub thing to all the nations of the world very favor-
able replies from nearly ail.
Gentlemen, it has been an honor to be here, and before we adjourn I wish to eay that I
reprceent the committee of the Allied Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce of my
dty, Fltilaidelphia- It is a great pleasure to be told that your itinerary brings you to Phila-
delphia on October IS and October 16. There we want to show you our industrial establish-
ments, and we want to show you that while we are a peace-loving city of Quakers, we have
in Phfladelphia the greatest shipyoida of America. The New York shipyard is in Philadel-
phia, and the Cramps'. We want to show you that we can drop into the water every year if .
neee«eary in Philsdelphia alone eight of the greatest Dreadnaughts in the two shipbuilding
establishments, so that in building them we hope that we are only creating instruments of
Following our invitation to Philadelphia I am instructed by the conunittee to say that
all del^ates will be invited to my bouse in the country to dinner on the evening of October
16. While later on you will receive fonnal invitations, which are now being printed, I take
this method of expressing my hope that you will all be with me in my country home the eve-
ning of the 16th to dinner, and I ho[>e you will put it down as a memorandum. {Applame.)
H. le ^fisideot: Je remercie M. Ia Lanne pour la contribution qu'il a donn£e & la
question de I'arbitrage, contribution qui sera versfe, oomme les autres, & titre de document,
pour le comity permanent,
Je n'ai plus maintenant qu'un orateur inscrit, et il est absent.
Dans ces conditions, messieurs, le nombre des orateurs inscrite £tant 6puis£, la seconde
question JL I'ordre du jour peut Ure consid^rte comme termin^e. Nous avons done lecueilli
des mat^riaux pour le prochain congr^ aussi bien, de nos auiis d'ltalie, au point de vue de
I'aifoitrage entre particuliers, que de nos amis de Boston et des £tats-Unis, au point de vue
de I'arbitrage vu de haut, entre nations.
(Trmulaliott)
I thank Mr. La Lanne for his contribution lo the subject of arbitratirat which wiU
be handed over, like the others, to the Permanent Committee.
There is but one speaker remaining on the list, and he is absent.
Under these conditions, gentlemen, I consider that the list of appointed speakers
is exhausted and that the second question on the order of the day may be considered
closed. We have, then, gathered material for the next Congress, — from our friends
from Italy on the point of view of arbitration between individuals, and from our friends
from Boston and the United States, on the point of view of arbitration on a broader
scale, between nations.
IC. Benurd J. Shoninger, PreMmtt of the Ameriean Chamber of Commerce <ff Parit
Je craini qu'il y ait malentendu. Les Am^cains et les An^aia n'ont pas bien compris
ri le congrte a accepts, selon votre jugement, seulem^it la premiere resolution propose par
M. Apt. Est-ce que le congrte demande au gouvetnement des Cltata-Unia de riunir un con-
grte pour decider de cette question-l& seulementT
{TrmOatum)
1 fear there is a misunderstanding. The Americans and English have not clearly
understood if the Congress has accepted, according to your judgment, only the first
reaolution proposed by Or. Apt. Does the Congress ask the government of the United
States to call a conference lo decide this question only?
Digitized byGoOgIC
178 INTERNATIONAL C0NGHE88 OF
H. 1« PtMdMit: Senlement, oui. Je vais rappder en quelquee mote, measieura, et
qui a 4t£ fait. Le second objet & I'ordre du jour porte exclunvement but I'aibitnge entn
"individuala and foreign States," et lee cosoluaions de M. Apt ont 616 adoptees, penonne n'a
fait d'objection auz conclusions de son r^tport. Alors, on a miggiri que, peut^tre, — pane
qu'enfin cela depend du bon vouloir du gouvemement — que peut4tre le gouvemement dn
fH«te-Uni8 pourrait prendre I'initi&tive d'une conference & ce sujet. Le comity permanent
pourra se tenir en communication avec le gouvemement dee £ltata-Unis pour eavoir si tel est
. son bon plaisir. Nous ne pouvons, naturellement, pas agir autrement.
Le second point, c'est tout simpletuent une motion relative & voir itudier I'^tnhlinnrfnfrit
de I'arbitrage entre particuliets. Ce second point n'^tait pas k I'ordre du jour. J'ai laiȣ
d6vel(^)per la question afin que cela constitue dee matiriaux pour le prochain congrte. Ia
question sera port^ devant le comity permanent, qui, d'ici Uk, rasBemblera dee mat^rianx
nouveaus, et la question viendra abrs, complete, avec rapporteur, devant le prochain oongrte.
Et enfin, la demi^re motion, relative k I'arbitrage vu de haut, sera 6gslement port^ aa
comity permanent, qui veira quelle suite pratique on peut lui donner.
Le congrte a done voU une resolution sur lee conclusions de M. Apt, et il a pris la meil-
leure note, avec la meilleure attention, dee deux motions d^poafes, ausai bien pour ratbitnge
entre paiticuliers que pour I'arbitrage en gSn^rai.
(TrantJatum)
This question only, yes. I will sum up, gentlemen, in a few words what has been
done. The second topic on the order of the day bears exclusively on arbitration betweoi
"individuals and foreign States," and the condusioiis of Dr. Apt have been adopted, no-
body having obiect«d to the eonduaons of his report. Then it was suggested — peiitaps
because, after all, it depends on the good will of the government — that peifaap« the
Qovemment of (he United States might take the initiative with regard to a CMtferenee
on this subject. The Permanent Committee will enter into conmiunication with the Gov-
ernment of the United States to ascertain if this course will be agreeable to it. We can-
not, manifestly, proceed in any other manner.
As to the second point, it is simply a motion relative to an investigation of tlM
establishment of arbitration between individuals. This second point is not on the
order of the day. I have permitted the question to be discussed in order tliat it might
afford material for the next Congress. The question will be referred to the Penuanent
Committee, which from now till then will be gathering new material, and the questiwi
will then come, complete, after consideration by a Reporter, before the next Congress.
Finally, the last motion, relative to aibitration from a higher point of view, will like-
wise be laid before the Permanent Committee, which will decide what practical form can
be given to it.
The Congress has, then, voted a resolution on Mr. Apt's conclusions, and it has
given the most careful consideration, with the best attention, to the two motions offered,
as well for arbitration between individuals as for aibttration in general.
M. Shonloger: Si vous voulec me permettre, je vais dire quelquea mote en anglais.
(TnauiaHon)
If I am allowed, I will say a few words in T^^giMh,
H . le President: Certainement.
(Tramlction)
Certainly.
Hr. Shoninger: There seems to have been a mieundetstanding. When the motkai was
made by the honorable President, the fellow memben here, who do not q>eak FVencb, some
of them, supposed that that was merely an explanation of tbe position that bad b«en taken
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 179
by some of the speaken to draw the line between the argument that had been proposed and
BO ably presented by Dr. Apt, and the arKumente that have also been propoeed additiimally
H. le President: II faut faire une distinction entre le rapport de M. Apt, rapporteur,
rapport £tudi6, complet, et lea motions, ^loquentes, qui nous ont 6t& pr^sentjes iei «x abrupto.
(Trandation)
One must draw a distinction between the report of Mr. Apt, the Reporter, a studied
and complete report, and the eloquent motions which have been presented here kc
abrupto.
Mr. Shoniiiger: I concede that, yes; but we did not suppose that we were coming here
odIj to listen to discussion and adopt, without opportunity to make an amendment, in the
form of addition or otherwise, something we had read a few weeks ago. What would be the
object of coming here thousands of miles if we could not, bj some slight amendment, perfect
the resolution we were considering? Remember, there is no one that is oppoaiog the resolu-
tion of Dr. Apt; we are all in favor of it, but many of us think that that is impossible of reali-
sation, while we all think that by enlaiging the scope and by inviting the Government of the
Cnited States, of which we are the guesta to-day, to enlarge the sphere of the inquiry, we
would be reaHy placing this Congress in the position that we intended to have it place itself
— that is, to invite the United States Government to take the initiative in asking other gov-
ernments to a conference which shall have for its object the establishment of a tnbunal of
justice for commercial disputes between individuals or corporations belonging to different
nations, and not alone the question on the order of the day, which we consider of far less
importance, because it is not so customary, for there is one case of that kind to millions of
the other. That is, there is peihaps one case of commercial dispute between an individual
and a foreign government against a million disputes between individuals redding in difierent
countries. Therefore I say there has been a misunderstanding here, and since the question
has just come up we would like to know now whether in the future procedure of this Congress
we ore only going to be allowed to vote on questions as they are put in the prt^ram, or whether
any amendments or corrections or differences of opinion would be allowed to prevail. That
is a question that we want to have cleared up now. (Applause; "Hear, hearl")
M. le n^^ent: Je ne puis que vous r£p£ter ce que j'oi dit. Nous avcms vot^ les con-
dusions de M. Apt. Ce que vous ditea en ce moment n'est pas un omendement, o'eet une
autre question, et cette autre question n'eat pas i Tordre du jour. Je ne puis ainsi pas vous
demander de prendre une resolution sur une question qui n'eet pas & I'otdre du jour.
(Tntntlalion)
I can only repeat what I have already said: we have voted in favor of Mr. Apt's
conchisiona. What you now state is not an ameikdment, it is another question, and
this other question is not on the order of the day. I cannot, therefore, ask you to pass
a resolution on a question which is not on the order of the day.
(Tronrioliim)
We consider that it is the same question, enlarged, and with more chance of
realisation.
U. I« Fr^ddent: Je ne vous die pas non; je dois cependant, logiquement, m'en tmir k
I'ordre du jour.
(Tran^ation)
I would not contradict that; I must, however, adhere to the order of the d^.
Digitized byGoOgIC
180 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
If. SKminger: Maia c'est la mbne.
{Tnntialion)
But it IB the same thiiigi
U. le Pr^aldent: Je dia que, moi, qui conduia lea dglib^tiona en oe moment, je dois
voue faire d^Urer sur cette question et non paa but une autre. Vous avea d£liMr£ but U
premiere queation, noua sommea d'accord. Vous voudriei maintenant £largir . . .
(Trantiatum)
I conaider that in conducting the meeting at the present time I must oblige you
to deliberate on this question and not on anoUier. You have acted on the firet ques-
tion, we are agreed. Now you wish to amplify . . .
H. Shoninger: Noua ne aommes paa d'accoid,
iTrarulation)
But we are not agreed.
If. le Prtsldsnt: Vous n'^tea pas d'accord but les concluedons de M. Apt?
(Tronrialion)
You are not agreed on the conclusitm of Mr. Apt?
M. aioninger: Non, parce qu'il ne va pas aases loin.
(Xnmdatum)
No, because it does not go far enough.
H. le President: Pardon. Voua pouvei toujours dire que, pour ce qu'il a dit, vous
(tea d'accord. Nous nous aommea occupy de la question dea litigea entre particuliera et
£tats, qui £tait k I'ordre du jour, et pas autre chose; il n'y a pas i, aller plus loin, et dans
I'eap^ je consid^ la chose acquise. Vous avez eiit«ndu les conclusions de M. Apt et il n'y
a paa eu d'obaerration; je consid^ done que, juaque-li, nous aommes d'accord,
(TrantUUum)
Excuse me. You can in any event say that aa far aa what he has stated goes, yrra
are agreed. We have been conmdering the question of litigation between individuab
and Btat«B, which waa on the order of the day, and nothing else; there was no occasion
to go further, and under the circumstances I consider the matter cloeed. You have
heard the conclusiona of Mr. Apt, and no comimente were made; I therefore conaideT
that up to that point we aie agreed.
U. Shoninger: Jusque-IA, oui; maia attendez . . .
iTramtaHon)
Up to that, yes; but wait . . .
M. ie PrfiBident: Bon, nous voiU done d'accord. Mais vous demandes d'aller phis
loin. J'aurais pu, dja le d6but, dire: non, la queation n'est pas k I'ordre du }Our. Je n'ai
paa Toulu le faire, parce que j'ai trouv6 trim int^reaaant d'avoir lea motiona que nous avons
eues, aussi bien pour rarfaitrage entre particuliera que pour I'arbitrage en g£n£ral, et je vous
oi dit: nous accueillona cea motiona avec la plua grande faveur; nous les verserons cooune
document au comity permanent, lequel lea mettra k I'ordre du jour d'un prochain congris.
Je ne pouvais rien faire autre choee.
Voua ae pouvei paa, meaaieurs, prendre, k pied lev6, une decision eana avoir £tudi£ la
question. Juaqu'4 present, dans nos travaux de congrte, nous avons toujoura pToc&i6 avec
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 181
ordre et m^thode; 1m questions ont ^t£ mflries, eOee out €t£ ^udi^ea, et c'eet aur les eonchi-
Boaa de cee rapports que le eougrta 0*681 d^id^. Je ne peux paa faire ftutrament. (Applait-
diMementt.)
(Trarulation)
Good, we are therefore agreed. But you wish to go BtQl further. I might have
said fnnn the outset that the question was not on the order of the day. 1 did not
wish to do so, because I have found the motions which we have beard most interesUng,
both thoee for ubitration between individualB as well as fw arbitration in general,
and I have stated that we would gladly listen to these motions, but would collect them
in the forms of documents for the Permanent Committee, which would place them on
the order of the day for the next Congress. I could do nothing else.
You cannot, gentlemen, adopt a decision on the spur of the moment, without
having studied the question. Up to the present, in the woi^ of our Congress, we have
alwajTB proceeded in an orderly and methodical marmer; the questions have been studied
and deliberated on, reports have been presented, and it is on the conclusiona of such re-
porte that the Congress has acted. I cannot do otherwise. (Applaute.)
H. Sboniiicer: Je ne veux pas abuser de votre temps,
(rranslotfon)
I do not wish to waste your time.
H. le PrCddsnt: Je dMn une chose, c'est gviter tout mal oitendu. Pesptee qu'il n'y
{Traiuiaium)
One thing I denre above all, to avoid all misunderstanding. I hope that there
will be no more.
H. GQiminger: Oui, il y en a toujours, parce que si on avait dit, dis le commencMnent:
il faat voter oui ou non sur la proposition telle qu'elle est port^ k I'ordre du jour, et il t'y
aura pas d'amendement . . ,
(Translatton)
Yes, there is always likely to be, for, if it had been stated at the begimiing that we
must vote yes or no on the proposition as it is laid down in the order of tiie day and no
amendment will be allowed . . .
H. le PrMdent: Je voua demands pardon, ce n'est pas un amendement, c'est ime
autre proposition.
(TrwuJofum)
I beg your pardon; this is not an amendment, this is another proposition.
H. Shoolnger: Nous aorions peut-£tre votd autrement si vous aviei posfi la question de
cettefaQon.
(TntuUitian)
We might have vot«d otherwise if ytm had put the question in that manner.
H. 1« Prteident: Monsieur, nous ne sommes pas d'accord. Un amendement, dans
toutes lea diseussiraa, c'est une modification k une proposition dfiposfie. I>ans I'esp^ce, votre
proposition e«t une proposition Donvelle. Nous discutons la question des diff^rends entre
particuHera et fitats, pas autre choee; vous venei maintenant nous demander d'adopter des
rjsolntions aur la question des diff&ends entre particulieis. Ceci est urte choee abeolument
Digitized byGoOgIC
182 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
(Trantlation)
We do not agree. An amendment in all debates is a modification of a atat«d jimp-
oeition. In tbe present case your proposition is a new propodtion. We were dieeuaaiiis
tlie question of suite between individuala and States and nothing else; you now reqoeat
us to adopt resolutions on the question of disputes between individuals. This ia an
entirely different tiling.
K, Shoninger: Vous allei plus loin; vous demandes que nous, Am&icfUDS, den
k notre gouvemement d'inviter lea autt«a gouveniementa k diacut«r une question qui est, i
notre avis, trop timit^e; et c'eet cela que nous ne voulons pas adopter; noua voulons alia
plus loin.
ITratulalion)
You go even further; you ask us, Americans, to petititm our government to invite
other goveminente to discuss a question which, in our opinicm, is too limited, and it is
this which we do not wish to adopt. We wish to go further.
H. le President: Je ne demande pas mieux que d'aller plus loin avec vous, je suis avcc
Tous la main dans la main, quand la question sera £tudite; maia la question des litigee entre
particuliers n'est pas ^tudi^.
(TranalaHon)
I would ask nothing better tJian to go further with you, I am with yon IuhmI in
band after the question has been studied; but the question of suits between individuals
has not been studied.
H. Shoninger: Par qui?
(Xrannhium)
By whom?
H. le President: Pat nous. Au iMocboin congrSa, vous aur^i.un rapport oonq>let.
{TranttaUon)
By us. At the next Congress we will have a complete report.
(Trantlation)
We have received these reports some five or six weeks ago and we have studied
U. le Prfirident: Vous n'avei pas re^u un rapport sur lea difF£rends entre particuliers:
il n'y en avait pas, la question n'^tait pas k I'ordre du jour.
Enfin, monsieur, il me aemble que c'est bien simple. Vous ditcs: noua voulons aller plus
loin. Moi auBsi, moi, personnellement; mais moi, prudent du congrde, je ne peus pas *Der
phis loin aujourd'hui. H faut de I'ordre et de la m^Uiode.
(TVontlofMnt)
You have not received a report regarding suits between individuals; there was
none. Tbe question was not on the order of the day.
Finally, it seems to me that the case is very simple. You si^, we wish to go fnrtbei
and so say I also. That is, petHonally. But, as President of the Congress I cannot go
further to-day. We must have order and method.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 183
H. Shwifngw: Peut-Atra que M. Apt aoc«pt«ra I'Mnoideiiieiit. (AppIouduMmenti.)
(Tronclafum}
Feiii^M Mr. Apt will accept tlie amendment. (XppIauM.)
H. le Pt6Mm.t'. Ce n'eet pas un amendement. Je voue en prie, agisaons aveo ordre
et m^tliode. Soyei msuj^ de toute notre bonne volont^. Comine voue, je veux aller plus
loin, maia <!« ne aera pas aujoutd'hui. Step by »Up.
Maintenant, I'invitatiDn aux fitats-UniB de conToquer une conference, o'est une idte que
M. Apt a eue. Ce aeront lea £tata-Unia ou ee sera un autte Ctat; mui ce n'eet pas parce que
voB compatno1«8 d'Amdrique voudraient aller plus loin qu'ils devroieut s'oppoeer & la premie
meeure sur laquelle nous sommes d'accoid. Ce aera le gouvemement des Ctate-IJnis ou lut
autre. Laissei la question teUe qu'elle est; elle est bien paa&e, m^tliodiquement pas£«.
Je pense qu'il n'y a phis de malentendu. Nous avons nettement d^lib^r^ sur une question
k I'ordre du jour, avec un rapport fait et observations faites. Nous avons accueiUi avec la
plus grande faveur, je le r£p£te, les observations qui nous ont iU faites en deliors de la ques-
Uon k I'ordre du jour. J'aurais pu empAcher cette discussion; je ne I'ai pas voulu, et j'ai
m&ne tenu, sur la question d'arbitrsKe international, & laiaaer parler nos amis de Boston aveo
toute I'ampleur qu'ils ont voulu. Ce Bont d'ailleun des persouualit€s iiAportantes, A qui je
suis heureux de lendre personnellement hommage.
Je pense done, messieuis, qu'il n'y a pas de malentendu et que vous pouvei parfaite-
ment adopter la beeogne teUe qu'eUe a iti faite aujourd'hui.
(TraTulatim)
It is not an amendment. I beg of you proceed with order and metliod. Be assured
of our beet wishes. Like yourself I would like t« go further but we cannot do so to-day.
"Step by step."
Now the invitation to the United States to convoke a conference is one of Mr.
Apt's ideas. It mi^t be the United States or it might be anotliec country; but your
American eompatriota should not oppose the first measure, on which we are agreed,
because they h^tpen to desire to go stiH further. It might be the government of tiie
United States or some other. Let the question be as it is. It is properly put, methodi-
cally put.
I do not think there is any further miaunderstaikding. We have carefully debated
on the question on the order of the day. A report was made and comments heard. We
have heard with the greatest favor, as I said before, the remarks which were made be-
yond tiie question on the order of the day. I could have prevented this discussion. I
did not wish to do so and I have even encouraged our Boston friends to speak on the
questiMi of international arbitration. They are, moreover, petsons of consequence to
whom I am glad to pay my respects.
I think, therefore, gentlemen, that there is no misunderstanding and that you con
perfectly wdl accept the proceeding as carried out to-day.
Mr. WHUun J. Thomas, Amariean Chamber of Commerce of Paria: Mr. President, may
I ac^ one question? Are we to understand your ruling to mean that should we desire to
ofier an amendment to any of the propositions here discussed it will not be in order to
bring that fonraid and to vote on the question? Suppose we have an amendment to pro-
pose, will it be in order to do so and to have the question put up to the meeting?
H. le President: Un amendement pent toujours ttK admis; mais ce dont vous paries
n'eet pas amendement, c'est une autre question. Je pense que vous pouvei vous en rapporter
& toute notre bonne volenti et k la m^thode que nous apportons dans tons ces travaux.
Si peisonne ne demande plus la parole, je declare la s&mce levde. Reunion domain k
dix beuree. Je dois vous informer que, k la demande de I'un des orateurs qui desire prendre
Digitized byGoOgIC
184 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
la parole ewt la qnatridme queetioit, relative aux i^ormea poeUlefl, oette qtMstkm, m lieu de
veoir demain, aera remiae & jeudi. II y aim done une interrenioii entre lea queetioiu & I'or-
dre du jour.
La efance eet lev^.
An amendmmt is always admissible. But what you an ipeakiiiE of is not an
amendment; it is another question. I think you can yourself bear witness to all our
good feeling and the method which we follow in all our proceedings.
If no one wishes to speak further I declare the session adjourned to meet to-
morrow at 10 o'clock. I ought to inform you that, at the request of one of the speakos
who wishes to take the floor on the fourth question, with reference to poetal iWwms,
that question, instead of coming up to-morrow, will be postponed to Thursday. Then
will thus be a change of order in the question on the order <d the day.
The session is adjourned.
Adjourned at 6 rji., to meet on Wednesday, September 26, at 10 AJi.
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
The session weis called to order at 10.08 a.m., September 25, 1912, President Loms
CAHON-LxaKAND in tlie cbair. At the desk. General Secretary T^mt-'h Jottoand, Dr. Max
Apt and Mr. EIdwabd A. Fiusnx,
ftesident Canoii'LeKruid
Je donne la parole i M. le vice-prfaident Filene, pour qu'il explique amt AmMcaina la
fagon ezact« dont nous procMons dans les travaux du Congrte, afin d'^viter lee petite malen-
tendus comme ceuic qui se sont produita hier. M. Fokne a la parole.
(Tronilafton)
I give the floor to Vic«-Preeident FDene, who will explain to the Americaoa the exact
way we proceed in the woric of the Congress, so as to avoid such little miBimderatandingB
as have occurred yesterday. Mr. Filknii has the floor.
Mr. Edward A. Filene, Boiton Chamber of Commeree; Viob-Prendent of the Congren
Mr. President:
I am going to try to explain very briefly once more just what the question at issue laet
night was. On the pn^ram of tlte session we had a question which wsa the first question
presented by Dr. Apt yesterday, "Arbitration between Individuals and Foreign Nations."
Through the courtesy of the officera of this Congress an opportunity was given to present two
other questions of arbitration. I eay the courtesy of the officers, because it is an unwritten
law eetabtiHhed in each of the conventions eo far held — established as a matter of common
sense aiul aelf-^)reservKtion — that no question shall be acted upon except such as have been
placed upon ihe program after consideration by the Permanent Committee. This rule is
one which I think is backed up and wiU be backed up by all of us as we go from one Congress
to another, for we realise that these Congresses cannot continue to be succenful if questions
which have not been considered and studied are acted uptm hastily. Not only will the semi-
official representatives from different countries cease coming to these Congresses, but I think
that none of us who are members of chambers of oommerce which are not semi-official will
want to go to CongresBea where we may be involved in votes on large questions which our own
diambers have not had time to conrader and to instruct us as to tiieir attitude. I say, by the
eourte^ (rf llie officers, two other questions were allowed to be discussed, with the understand-
ing stated in advance that they were not to be voted upon. The first of those two questions
was presented by Signor Poui, who advocated arbitration between individuals of different
countries. The third was pneented by Mr. Edwin D. Mead, who offered a resolution asking
for arbitration between the different nations of tbe world. Mr. Bernard J. Shoninger, presi-
dent of the American Chamber of Coounerce of Paris, and my friend, with his well-known
■eal for the good things for the commercial men of the world which has placed him in the
forefront of the American Chamber of Paris, desired that the first question, which had al-
ready been passed on and vot«d on affirmatively, should be amended, and our President, M.
Canon-Legrond, while saying that he was personoUy in favor of the extension of arbitration
between individuals of different nations, said that he was compdled to rule that that was not
an amendment, but a new question, which would have to be sent bock to the Permanent
Committee and studied, to be presented at the next Croigress.
Now, it uudoidttedly seemed to Mr. Shoninger and others tliat our President's ruling
was pedu^ a bit arbitrary. As a matter of fact, it was not our President's ruling, because
Digitized byGoOgIC
186 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
the questitm had already been decided by the Permanent Committee &t Paris, and in this
fashum. We of America and Boston presented in London two years ago the question of ar-
bitration between nations, and we expected and hoped that it would be preeented &t thia
CongresB for vote. The Permanent Committ«e, meeting in Europe this spring, decided that
in their judgment another question ought to take precedence as leading up, periiape, to this
question in the future. They decided that the question preeented by Dr. Apt, aibitntam
between individuals and foreign nations, should be the one question on the pragram ot this
Congress. By that decision they made the distinction between otiier typee of arbitration^
whether it be between individuals of different nations or between different nations tbem-
selves. And so our Presidrait simply confirmed what the Permanent Committee had already
carefully gone over. I need not say to you that we Americans were disappointed at that
result. But we saw that if these Congresses ore to continue we must help to so adjust the
proceedings that they will more and more bring the important business mea of all nalioiu
really togetiier in this consultation. For finally, gentlemen, what we aie fiiat aft«r, what we
must first get, is international understanding, and through that we h(q>e to go on to inter-
national a)
H. le Prudent: En ouvrant la stance, j'ai k vous donner connaissance de t^^grammw
de felicitations re^us. Nous avons re^ des t^l^rammee de f£Ucitations de Pera (Constan-
tinople), de Norv^e, de la Suisse, de Csemowits, de DQsseldorf, de Christiania, de Bud*-
peet, de Londres et de Milan.
M. Shoninqxb demande la parole pour une question d'ordre.
iTramlalion)
In openii^ the seesion, I must make you acquainted with the telegrams of eon-
gratidations which we have received. We have received tel^rams of congratulatioiis
from Pera (Constantinople), from Norway, from Switzerland, from Ciemowiti, fnxn
DQsseldorf, from Christiania, from Budapest, from London and from Milan.
Mr. Shoninoer requests the fioor for a question of order.
Hr. Bernard J. Shoninger, American Chattier of Commerce of ParU
Mr. President:
PeAaps, as our distinguished Vioe-Preddent has spoken in English, it will be bettts for
me to make a brief explanation in English. The misundentaoding yesterday aroee from two
causes, — first, because the majority of the del^ates here had not been told at the begin-
ning of the Congress, the opening sessicm yesterday, that, in order to make amendments or
to propose amraidments to or corrections of any of the eight orders of the day that were <m
the program, the matter would have to go back to the Permanent Committee to be reported
at a future conference. If that had been told us at the veiy beginning, or if we had recuved
written notice to that effect at the same time that we received the various pamphlets eoo>
taining the very ^le reports of the different Reporters, all this misunderstanding would have
been avoided.
That was the first cause. The second was, that the majority, oS wbiab I was one — and
I understand French thoroughly — did not hear the proposition when it was put to a vote
by our honorable President. Therefore, we did not know that the proposition, as piopooed
by Dr. Apt, had actually been carried and voted for unanimously, because the majority of
Americans — and, I dare say, a number of others — would periu^w have said, if I mi^t
use language perhape a Uttle bit common in this particular instance, we are begiiming with
the tail of the d<% insUad of with the dog itself (faughltr), and the dog, even for one of that
particular breed, is a very short tailed one at that, (f/aughler.)
So 1 think I am merely voicing the sentiments of those who did not quite understaitd
the customs of these Congresses, as we have now been told, in q>esking as I do at this tinM.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 187
The mJauDd^etttading uose through faSure to explain, and also through failure to hear the
deaision as put by the Pitddent yeeteiday in connection mth the vote.
We are all here for a single purpose. Delegates from all oountriee have one idea in view,
and that is to facilitate conunerciol intercourse. We want to do all we can; we have but one
idea. None <d us wish to put any obstacles in the way. I would be the very last person in
the world to put obstacles in the way of good achievement by this Congress. ("Good,
good ! " and appIatMS.)
Dr. Sovtbeer, "Der Dmttekt EanddOag" <^ Berlin
Meine Herrent
Wir sind mit der Stellungoahme dea Herm Prfisidenten einverstanden. In London
wurde in Aussicht genommen, die Frage dea Schiedsgerichte beim nAchsten KongreD su ver-
handeln. Eb wurde ober der Wunsch geftuEert, daC wir dut solche Fragen behandeln, Dber
die gute Beriehte vorliegen. Ala das „Comit£ Fennanent" in diesem Sommer Uber diese Frage
vethandelte, lag kein Bericht vor Qber die Frage des Schiedagerichta im allgemeinen. £!s lag
all^dii^ ein Beiicht vor ttber die Frage des Schiedagerichta zwischen Privaten und Staaten.
Nach einer eingehenden Diskussion im „Comit^ Permanent" hat man uiit«r BerQcksichti-
gung dieser Sachlage sich dafOr entschieden, den Gegenstand unserer Tagesordnung ho eu be-
■chrflnken, wie es gesohehen ist. Wir konnen und konnten nicht anden ala einen BeschluS
faseen lediglich Uber den Antrag des Heim Dr. Apt, und wir haben vollst&ndig verstanden,
dafi der Prftmdent eine Abetimmung darQber hetbeigefOhrt und das Ergebnis dieser Abstim-
mung featgeatellt hat. {BeifaU.)
(Trantlation.)
Gentlemen, we agree with the position taken by the President. The intention
was, in London, to consider the question of a court of arbitration at the following Con-
gress. The deeiro was, however, eiipressed that we should only consider questiona regard-
ing which proper reporte were presented. When the Fennanent Committee handled
the question this summer, no communications had been presented regarding the gen-
eral question of arbitration. There was only a communication regarding the question
of arbitration between individuala and States. After an exhaustive discussion in the
committee, it was decided, in view of the circumstances, to restrict the subject on our
order of the day in tiie manner which has been done. We cannot and could not do
otherwise than pass a resolution based solely on the conclusions of Dr. Apt, and we
have entirely understood that the President called for a vote thereon, and the result
of the vote was declared. (Applause.)
H. le Pr£ddent: Je ne voudrais pas rouvrir la discussion, nous ne devons pas la
rouTiir. II ne faut pas confondre un amendement avec une proposition nouvelle. Je dois
maintoiant donner la parole & M. Filenb.
Avant de commenoer pratiquement nos travaux je rapelle ceci: la nomination dee mem-
bres du comity permanent ae fait par lea d^figufa dea divera pays au CongrSe.
(TraadtUian)
I would not like to reopen the discussion, we must not reopen it. An amendment
should not be confounded with a new propoaition. I must now give the floor to Mr.
FlLENE.
Before entering upon the practical part of work on band, I call attention to the
fact that the appointment of the members of the Permanent Cominittee is affected by
the delegates of the various countries repreeented at the Congress.
H. L«doiiz: Monsieur le pr&ident, je demande la parole pour une queetim d'ordre.
(TrmuiaHon)
Mr. President, I wish to raise a point of order.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
H. 1« Pr6ild«nt: Pardon, voue a'aves p«s la paiole.
(IVansIaiton)
Excuse me, you have not got &t iota.
M. Ledoitx: Alora, je tous la demande. Queetion d'ordre.
U. 1* Prfisldeiit; Laisses-moi, monsieur; je euis & foire une uHnmunication, et je von*
prie de me Itueser continuer.
Je dis done, meetdeuiB, que lea membres dn comiU sont d^aign^a par lee dj)^u& au Cob-
grte dee diS£renU pays. C'eet-a-dire que e'il y a ici des d61£gute du Dr^sil, du Pirou, de
I'Ciquateur, ila peuvent entre eux designer un dSl^gui au comity peimanent.
Dans lee pays oA il existe une FMiration Nationale des Cbambree de commerce, on peut
abandonner k cette F4d6ration le droit d'61ection pr6vu.
Voil&, meaaieuTs, ce que je d^sirais vous dire, afin que, avast la fin de la eeeaion, d'id
demain, ceuz 'd'entre voua qui scmt venue de toua lea pays du monde au present Congrte
puissent, avant de la quitter, avaot de nous quit(«r, faire leur designation pour lee d£l£gu£s
au comity permanent. Et je prie M. Filene de vouloir bien, dana aa langue, voua eiqiUqaa
la m&ne chose.
{Trandation)
One momoit; I am making a statement, and I would request you to let me
continue.
As stated before, gentlemen, the members of the Permanent Committee are desig-
nat«d by the delegates of the various countries represented at the Congreea: tiiat is to
Bay, if there are here, for inatance, del^atea from Braiil, from Peru, from Ecuador,
they may designate amongst themselves a del^ate to the Permanent Committee.
In the countries where there exists a National Federation of Chambers of Commerce,
the said federation may be conceded the right of election provided in tiua respect.
This I wanted to tell you in order that prior to the termination of the seesion,
to-morrow, those amongst you who have come from all parts <d the woiid to this
Congress may, before leaving us, desisoate the members of the Permanent Committee
that they choose. I would request Mr. Filraie to eiplain the same thing in English.
Hr. Fnene: Provision seven provides that the effective membeia and the deputiea HhaQ
be nominated by the delegates to the Congress of the different countries; delegates of coun*
tries having a Naticmal Federation of Chambers of Commerce or of industrial and oommercial
associations may abandon the right of nominating members of tiie Permanent Committee in
favor of such a federation. Members of the Permanent Committee shall enrciae tlie man-
date thus conferred upon them until the succeeding Congress.
The whole issue, gentlemen, is this: There ia no objection and can be no objectitm to, and
there is no power to prevent a proper amendment of any question before this Congreea. lite
only issue is that no new question shall be thrust upon the Congress and voted upon before
it b studied.
Hr. Urbalii J. Ledooz, Union of Iniemalimuil AmKiaiion, Sntweb, Bdffium: Mr.
Chairman, please: Has the previous question been closed by the Ctoigress itself or by <ma
man? I ask whether the Congreaa movea or doea not. The chairman ia to rule, but shall the
Congress follow him7 Our principal purpose in holding the Congreaa in America was to
insure that business men should have a voice, and that voice was towards arbitratioD,
peaceful aibitration of disputes between nations. I have just returned fnxu E>ut>pe, and I
„Googlc
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 189
have been at the Fourth Congress at London, one of the delegates with Mr. Filene and Mr.
Pahey of the Boston Chamber of Commerce. Our principal purpose in going to Europe
was to secure a better underatanding between the commercial and the industiial men of
the Old World and the New. But our main purpose was to secure on the program of the
Congren the incluaion of the question of aibitration between nations, and that has been
sidetncked. I aak in f ull justice to all tlie delegates of Europe, to all those who are receiv-
ing you, the members of the Permanent Conimittee, tliat in some way tiiia may not be.
There is a question there that was discussed before your Permanent Committee in Paris,
that has been changed from the arbitration of disputes among the family of nations to dis-
putes between individuals. And we are, I believe, in America broad enough and progree-
dve enough to believe that we can differ in some ways in our opinions, but that we can at the
present moment think mora of the family of nations than of the individual or of our own
personal interests in business.
Dr. Soetbeer {Berlin): Der Herr Prfisident hat daran erinnert, dafi die Wahlen sum
„Comit^ Permanent" auf iweierlei Weise vollflihrt werden kfinnen, n&mlicb, entweder in-
dem die Angehfirigen einer Nation hier unmittelbar die Wahlen vomehmen, oder indem die
Hetren einer Zentral-Organisation, wie sie beispielsweise fOr Deutschland im Deutschen
Bandelstage besteht, ihre Vertratung Qbertragen. Dieses mCge iwischen heute und morgen
Ich bitte die Herren aus Deutschland, dch nach ScbluS der Vormittagssitiung in dieser
Ecke dee Saalea (weitt von der Trilnlns out thuA Unkt) cusammensufinden, damit wir uns lUier
die Aogelc^enheiten veiBtftndigen.
(rronslofum}
The President has reminded us that the selections for the Permanent Committee
may be msde in two ways, viz. by the del^ates of any (me nation here mn-lting their
election direct, or by their appointing any central organisation to which tbc^ may be-
long as their representative for the purpose, as for instance for Germany "Der Deut-
sche Handelstag." This may be done between to-day and to-morrow.
I would request the members from Germany at the close of the morning aeaaion
to assembte in this comer of the hall (indicating the l^t of Ike ptafform) in order tltat
we may come to an understanding on this subject.
Mr. Ledoux: I ask whether the Congress rules or notf
H. le President {interromparU): Fardcm, M. Ledoux —
{Maigri les infemipftons, M. Leioux eontmne.)
(TnitMlafum)
Panhm me, Mr. Ledoux —
(Afr. Ledaw, eotdinvtt in spite <^ Oie intemiptum.)
Ur. Lsdonz: I ask whether the Congress ehall decide. (Criet i^ "Ovt border.") I would
ask ~ lHi»»e*.)
Mr. mene: Whom are you representing?
H. le PiMdMit: Je vous en prie, M. Ledoux, la question a 6t6 termini; nous ne vou-
Ions pas la rouviir.
(Tronslatiim)
I beg your pardon, Mr. Ledoux; the question hss been dosed; we do not wish to
Digitized byGoOgIC
190 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
H. Ledouz; Mais, voub I'avei teiminte vous-mSme, non psa le CoDgr^.
(Trvm^alum.)
But you have cloeed it youreelf, and not the Congreaa.
H. le Prfrideat: Je vous denumde pardon, ne rouTTons pas la question.
Nous continuoiiB done la discusmon, L'ordre du jour ^pelle maintenant "The Unifi-
cation of Legislation relating to Checks."
Le rapporteur Apt a la parole.
(TraJuUdion)
I beg your pardon; let us not reopen the question.
Let us continue our discussion. The order of the day now calls for " The Unifica-
tion of L^islation relating to Checks."
Dr. Apt, the Reporter, has the floor.
THE mnncATioN of legislation relating to checks
Dt. Uu Apt, Syndic i^ "Die AUetten der Kaufmanntctufft von Berlin"
G^tlemen:
Before I b^n to make my speech on the subject of the unification of the taws of the
oheck, 1 must call to mind the great succees that the Second Hague Cooferaice had conoenung
the unification of the laws of exchange. Almost all States with the exception of Uk United
States and England have accepted a convention dealing with the unification of the laws ot
The International Congress of the Chambers of Commerce has continually asked for the
unification of the laws of exchange, and I believe that the Congress has reason to be very
satisfied with that success, and I hope that the States which have not yet accepted Uie con-
vention will in time follow the example of the other States.
It is not possible at such a great meeting to discuss all the pointa of the check, but it is
Buffici^t to deal with the most important principles. Therefore in my report I will speak of
tite rules that "Der Deutsche Handelstag" has proposed.
iConHnuing by repeatinfi in French the irtirodtietory gtaUment)
Heaueurs:
Avant de commencer mon n^port but I'unification des legislations conoemant le di^ue,
3 me faut faire mention du grand succte qu'a eu la seconde conference diplomatique de Ia
Haye sur Tunification du Droit relatif & la lettre de change. Presque tous lea fltats — k
I'exception des Etats-Unis d'Am&ique et de TAngleteire — ont adopts une convention sur
^unification dea droits relatifs aux lettres de change.
Ce eongrte international des Chambtes de commerce a r£clam6 sans cesse I'unification
de cea droits et je crois qu'il a tout lieu d'etre satiafait de ce succis. J'eepite que les fltats
qui n'ont pas encore adhSie & cette convention, suiviont bientAt I'exemple dea autree £tats.
li est impossible dans une si grande assemblie de discuter tous les details du cheque.
On devra done se bomer aux points easentiels. C'est poutquoi je vous pr^eente dans mon
lapport les id^ea que "Der Deutsc^ Handelstag" a adoptees.
iContinving in German)
Sehr geebrt« Heirenl
Der im Juni 1910 in London abgehaltene Vierte Internationale Handelakatmner-Kongrefl
faQte in Betug auf daa intemationale Scheckrecht folgenden BeechluB:
„Der Koi^rell nimmt mit Intereese die ihm schon voigdegten SchriftstQcke eDt«
intemationalen Geeetsgebung Qber den Scheck lum Ausdnick bringt."
„Der Koi^rell nimmt mit Intereese die ihm schon voigdegten SchriftstQcke entsegen
und stellt die F^age tur VervoDstAnd^ung des Studiums fOr die Tagesordnung der nachsten
Sitnmg EurQck, indem er seine voile Sympathie for den Gedanken der Vereinneitlichung der
'-"-■'-'-" * ' ■ ' ikbringt."
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 191
Die VOD dem Kongrefi erwartete VervoUst&ndigung dee Studhima iat, aoweit Deutsch-
land in Betiaclit kanaat, dadurch eifolgt, daB einm&l Herr Dr. Tnimpler im Auftrege der
Hatwinltih ftinnier lU Frankfurt a. M. eine „Systematische rechtBrergleicheiide Danrtellung
des Scheckrechta aller Kulturvfilker" gegeben hat «nd femer Herr Geheimrat Dr. Felix Meyer
im Anftrage der Xlteaten der Kaufmaimschaft von Berlin in gleicher Weise wie beim Welt-
vecbeeliecht eine aiufOhrliche Untermichung Dber die Vereinhejtlichung der Weltacheck-
lechte angestellt hat, von denen die etsten Lieferungen beicita der Offenttiohkeit Dbergeben
worden sind und von denen eine Reihe von JExemplaren hier auf dem Tisch dee Hauees auf-
liegt. £b hat femer der AuaechuC dee Deutachen H&ndelstages sich in seiner am 24. Jimi
d. J. in KOln a. Rh. Btattgehabten AusachuC-SitEung mit der Frage besch&ftigt und die t)ber-
leugung gewonnen, daQ eine Vereinheitlicbung der Scbeckrecbte im Interesse von Handel und
Industrie nicht nui wElnscbenswert, sondem aucb durchfdhibar sei. £r hat eine Seihe von
Leits&tKn aufgestellt, die mir eine trefHiche Gnmdlage fOr die SchaSung einee Weltocheck-
rechte lu bilden scheinen, und ich werde deahalb mich darauf beschrfinken, ohne auf Details
einiugehen, dieae Leitefttie n&her lu begrOnden.
Bevor ich hierzu Obergehe, kaim ich nicht unteriaaaen, dee hervorragenden Erfolgee lu
gedenken, den die iweite, auf den 16. Juni 1912 nach dem Haag berufene diplomatiache Welt-
wechaebechts-Konfereni gehabt hat, die eu einer Konvention gefOhrt hat, der, at^esehen
von den Vereinigten Btaaten von Nordamerika und England, alle Staaten beigetreten sind.
Der Intemationale HandelHkammer-KongreB, nelcher die SchafFung eines Weltwechaelrechts
wit jeher betrieben hat, hftt alien Grund auf dieses Eigebnia stoli zu sein, Der Veriauf der
Veihandlungen liber das Weltwechaelrecht erCffnet aber auch auseichtavolle Aspekte fOr die
Schafhing eines Weltscbeckrechta.
L Begriffabestimnmng
Die erste Frage, welche sich eihebt, ist die, soil das Weltacheckrecht eine Begriffsbe-
stimmung des Scbecka in das Gesetz aufnehmen oder nur die weeentlichen Bedingungen auf-
Ktdlen, unter denen die Uricunde als Scheck angesehen werden soil. Das eine, glaube ich, hat
die historische Entwicklung der gesamten Scheckfrage ergeben, daC die Anaicht, die von der
en^isohen Gruppe vertreten wird, ab ob der Scheck lediglieh als eine Unterart des Wechsela
ansusehen sei, nicht mehr aufrecht erhalten werden kann. Aber auch die Venniche der franz5-
eischen Gruppe, eine Legaldefinition dee Schecks zu geben, veranlassen eu iweifeln und be-
Bl&ttgen den alten Grundsati: omnia dtfinitio eii pericidota.
Eine Definition des Schecks zu geben erscheint auch unnAtig, wenn man, wie ea daa deutr
sche Scheckageseti tut, sich darauf beschrankt, die wesenUichen Erfordemisse des Schecks
aufzuifihlen. Dem Vernehmen nach hat auch die diplomatieche Weltwechselrechts-Eonfe-
Koi, die sich kursoriseh auch mit der Scheckrecbtfrage befaOte, von einer Legaldefinition dee
Schecks Abstand genommen und sich damit begniigt, die wesentlicben Erfordemisse des
Schecks xum Ausdnick lu bringen. Ich glaube daher auch dem Kongrei! ala ewten Leitsata
vorechlsgen lu dOrfen:
n. Passive Scheckfflhigkelt
Zu den bestrittendsten Fragen des Scheckrechts gehfirt die Frage, ob der Kreia der be-
Behbaren Petsonen beschifinkt werden soil. Man unterscheidet Geaetze, welche nur einen
Bankier ala paaeiv scheckffthig betrachten, diejenigen Gesetse, welche ein Bankinstitut, ein
Ereditinstdtut und Kaufleute fUr paadv scheckf&hig halt^i, und solche, welche eine voile
passive Scheckf&hi^eit bestimmen. BchlieSlich diejenigen Gesetee, welche eine SoU-Vor-
scbiift fOr die Beziehung dee Bankiers und denen gleichgestellte Anstalten vorachreiben,
nnd Schecks, die diesen Erfordemiasen nicht entspiechen, ala Wechael verstempeln.
Digitized byGoOgIC
192 INTERNATIONAL CONOBE8S OF
Eb fragt Bich nun, welchen Staodpunkt soil das einheitliche Weltsciwekrecht e
QewiB ist ea ricbtig, daS der wirtschaftUche NuUen des Schecks nur donn eintxeten kaim,
wenn er auf FeiBOnen oder Firmen lautet, die berufem&Cig fOr fremde Reehnung Gdd aa-
nehmen und Zahlungen leisten. Nut auf diese Weiae vrird eine Ausammluiig dee K^Mtale an
diejenigen Stellen eimS^cht, welohe ea den BedOrfoisseu der aUgemeinen VollEswirtaehaft
EugfingUcb machen kOnnen. Und ea ist auch iuEug^>eii, daQ je gitliet der Kieis der Boo-
genen ist, um so schwieriger ist die AbrechDung, durch welehe im Wege der Buchong imd
tnit Hilfe des GiroTerkehrs eine wirkliche Erspamis an baren Umlaufanuttaln enielt wcrdcn
fconn. Trotzdem kOnnte aich meinea Eracbl«iis das Weltscheckrecht nicht auf den Staod-
punkt stellen, den das engliMhe R«cht aogenoounen hat, wonacb lediglich der BankieT ab
Besogener figurieren k&nn. Denn selbst wenn der Begriff des Bankiers in Wirkliehkeit so
klar nSjre, wie er es nicbt iat, d&Q der Nehmer sofort in der Lage ist, festcusteDen, ob er oinoi
gUltigen Scheck vor sicb hat oder nicht, darf man doch nicht ohne Not in die Wirtachafta-
entffieklung anderer groQer Staattu wie Frankieich eingieifen, wo Notare in ihrer Eagea-
achoft als VermOgeDsrerwalter vielfach Bargutbaben in Verwabrung haben, Qber die die
Hinterl^er im W^^ dee Scheckvericehrs verfilgen. Bs tiegt auch kein Gnmd vor, grofien
Export- und Importfinnen mit Qberseeischen Geech&ftebetrieb, die an ihrem auslAadiodim
Niederiaaaungsorte keioe Bankverfaindung beaitEen, eu veibieten, Sohecks auf sicb tidien so
losaen. Deahalb kann das Weltscbeckrecht es iwar als wOnechenswert auaq>rechen, daB
Schecks nur auf Baiikiera und gleicbgeatellte Anstalten geiogeQ werdeo aoUen, koneswep
aber dOrfen die anders lautenden Schecks als nichtig erid&rt werden. Deahalb schlage kb
Itmen vor, fOr das interaationale Scheckgeaetz den Sati lu akzeptieren:
„Ee ist zu bestimmen, daU Schecks nur auf einen Bankier ge«^^ werden soUen ; docb darf
ein auf einen Nichtbankier gesogener Scheck nicht rechtsunwirkaam sein."
HL Wesentliche Bestandtule des Schecks
Wenn der Scheck einen Zahlungsauftrag daratellt, an den sich rechtlicbe Folgen knOp-
fen, BO liegt es im Intereeee der Verkehrssicherheit, daB dieser Auftrag in einer achrif tlichen
Urkunde dai^eatellt nird, die fOr alJe Rechtafragen des Scfaeckverkehra die Gnmdiage bildet.
Daraus ergtbt aich von selbst, daQ die Scbriftlichkeit als erste Formerfordemia for den Scheck
aufgestellt werden muQ. E3>enao aelbatverat&ndlicb muB die Angabe des Beaogenen ab we-
senthches Erfordemis filr den Scheck anerksnnt werden, weil ohne dieee Angabe ein Scbect
nicht einloebar aein wQrde. Ob der Scheck die in den Scheck aniunebmende Beieidmung
als Scheck enthalten mOsse, dartlber herrscht in den einxelnen Lftndem keine Ubereinstim-
mung. Wenn die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und GroQbritannien Si^becks ohne die
Scheckklausel besitien, so ti^ es daran, daG dort der Scheck ein besondeta gearteter Wedisel
ist und ftla aolcber scblechtbin gilt, wenn er nicht an einen Bankier traaaiert worden ist. Indes
muB gerade fOr ein Papier, daa ala Zablungsmittel dienen soil, die Aufnahme der Scheckklau-
sel ala weaentliches Erfordemis befUrwortet werden, da sie Jeden Zweifel darCber nimmt,
was die Parteien gewollt haben und weil durch die Scheckklausel dem Ausateller >um Be-
wuBtseiu gebracht wird, d&B er duich dieees Papier Qber ein Guthaben bei dem BcKgensi
verfOgt und aich eventuell atnifiecbtlicher Verfolgungen aussetat, wenn er eine solche Urkunde
ohne Deckung ausstellt. Dem Veniehmen nach hat sicb auch die diplomatiacbe Kcmfeieai
fOr die Scheckklausel ausgeaprochen.
Das Requisit der Zahlungaklauael, d. h. die an eine Person oder Firma gerichtete Anwei-
sui^ des Ausstellera, aua aeinem Guthaben eine beatimmte Geldsunune lU Hthlen, wild vca
den aahlreicben geltenden Scheckgesetsen nicht llberall auadrQcklich gefoidert, doch auch
dort, wo seine Notwendigkeit nicht besondera betont wird, wird aie als unumgftnglich erachtet.
Jedenfalla herracbt darQber Dbereinstimmung, daQ die Weisung an den Beiogenen unbedingt
gegeben werden muB und von keiner Gegenleiatung abh&ngi^ sein darf. In dieeem Sinae hat
aich dem Vemebmeii nach auch die diplomatiache Konfereni ausgeaprochen.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 193
Die Angabe einer Geldsunuoe wird fOr den Scheck Qberell als notwendiges Erfoiderais
aufgest«Ut. Man ist d&rtiber wohl auch auf der intematiDnaien Konfereni einig geweeen,
daB HUT GeMschecks dan O^eostand einea einheitlichen Geaetsee bilden dOrfen. Der t}ber-
weiBunswcheck eignet sicb nicht isur Behandlung im eintaeittichen Seheckgesets, vielmehr
muQ es dea Banken Uberlaseen bleiben, dea Gebr&uch dieaer Urinmde durch beeondere Ge-
Bcbfiftsbedingungcn eu ordnen.
Ob die BeieichnuDg des ZahlungsortcH ale wesentlicber Beatondteil dea Schecks angeseben
wenlen soil, kann streitig sein. Gleichwohl dOrfte ea mch f^ ein einbeitlichea Scheckgeseti
empfehlen, die Ai^abe dea Zahlungsortee als wesentliehen Bestandteil dea Schecks aniu-
Behen. Nacb dem deutachen Recbt gilt, weim kein Zahlui^aort beiw. keiii Ort bei der
Fimu de« Bera^enen ang^ebeo ist, als Zahlungaort der Auastellui^sort; nach Oetetreichi-
aehem Recbt dagegen der Ort, an dem der Besogene eeine Hauptniederiaanmg bat. Die
leitera Regelui^ iat nicht zu befOrworten, denn auf diese Weiee iat in den lahlreichen FUlen,
in denen der besogene Bankier mehrvre Hauptnied^iassungen hat, eine eindeutige Beatim-
mong dea Zablungaortes Qberbaupt nicht mCglicb.
Die Bezeichnung des Auaetellungsortea iat deabalb von groBer Wichtigkeit, weil aus dem
Ortodstunt ee sich erpbt, ob es sicb um einen Inlands- oder Aualandaecheck handelt und aich
danseh die Frasentationsfrist ngelt.
Auch der Tag der AuaeteUung ist fOr jede Uikunde von groQer Bedeutung, weil der Be-
pnn der Prfiaentationsfriat nur vom Zeitpunkte der Auaatellung an gerechnet werden kann.
Da der Zweck dea Schecka der iat, eofort eingeUet zu werden und seine Auaartung eu
einem Kreditpapier verhQtet werden muQ, bo iat die Sichtstellung dee Schecka auoh fOr das
einheitliche Scbeckgeeetz cu adoptieren.
Zu den unwesentlichen Bestandteilen dea Schecks. d. h. lu denjenigen, die fehkn kfinnen,
otaie dafi dadurch die Goltigkeit des Schecka beeintr&cbtigt vrird, gehAr^ die Outhabenklau-
ael und die Beieichnung des Zahlunpempf&ngere. Waa die Guthabenklauael betrifft, ao
enthftlt das englisohe Oeeeti dieaelbe nicht, trotwlem h< der strenge Handelsbrauoh den
BcheekreriEehr in reelkn Gtenzen. Auch fOr daa Weltacheckgeaets erscheint die Guthaben-
klauael QberflOssig, da die charakteriatische Eigenschaft der Uricunde bereite durch die
Seheokklausel beieichnet wird. Wer einen Scheck ausstellt, weiQ eben, doB er dadurch flber
ein Guthaben verft^.
Die Aufnahme der Guthabenklausel ala wesentlicher Bestandteil dea Schecks ist auch
deahalb nicht lu empfehlen, weil Qber den Begriff Guthaben die einielnen Geaetae vonein-
ander abweichen. Hiemach empfielt ea aich also nicht, im Weltacbeckrecht die Guthaben-
klauael als weaentlichee Erfordemia aufiunehmen.
Ebenaowenig wesentlich erscheint die Beieichnung dea Zahlungsempfangers. Ein Scheck
ohne Angabe dea ZaUungsempfftngeiB wird eben ids Inhaberacheck behandelt.
Ala weoeotliche Bestandleile dee Schecka aind aniuericennoi:
a) Untenchrift des AuaeteUen,
b) Beceichnung dea Beiogenen,
c) Scheckklaueel,
d) Zahlungaklausel,
fj Angabe des Ortes und dea Tages der Ausatellung.
Dag^en sind als unwesentliche Bestaudteile anEusehen:
Guthabenklauael,
BeKiehnung des Zahlungsempfangera,
Beaeiclmung des Zahlungsortes.
Digitized byGoOgIC
194 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
17. Der Sclieck fan legelmftBigan VtAthi
FOr den Scbeck im r^elm&Sigen Vericehr kommen folgende VeriiKltnisse in Betncht:
a) das Verhfiltius dee Beiogenen lum Ausateller,
b) das VerMItnia dee Betogeoea sum Inhaber,
c) das Verh<nis dee AussteUere imd der Indoesanten mm Inhaber.
Was das Verh<niB des BeEogenen sum Aiissteller anbelan^, so stQtst sich dasoelbe anf
die iwischen dieaen beiden getrofienen Vereinbaruogen, den sc^enaanten Scheckrertrag, anf
Gnmd deasen der Eontoinhabet berecbtigt iat, fiber sein Guthoben beim Besogenen mitlds
Schecka eu verfOgen. Diesen Scheckvertrsg etwa geaetzlich festzule^^, empfiehlt aich fOr
ein einheitliches Scheckgesetz oicht; deim es handelt sich hier um Verh<iuaee, die der Scbeck-
liehiing Eugrunde liegen, im Scheck selbst aber nicht sum Ausdruck gelapgen.
Die Frage, ob dem Scbeckinhaber ein direktes Klagerecbt gegea den Beiogenen in deii>-
selben Umfange einger&umt werde, in welcbem der leUtere dem Ausateller nach dem swiacben
ilmeii obwaltenden RechtsverhSituis zur Einl6sung des Schecks verpflichtet ist, wird v<n den
verschiedenen Geaetzen versehieden beautwortet. Das direkte Elagerecht dea Scheckinha-
bera gegen den Becogenen wird nur in denjenigen LOndem anerkannt, welche umehmen, d^B
mit der Begebung des Schecks auch der Anapnich auf die Deckung fibergeht, wie in Fr«iik-
reicb, Belgien, Italien. FOr daa Weltscheckrecht empfiehlt ea sich nicht, einen direktoi
BcheckrechtUchen Anapnich gegen den Bezogenen lUEulassen, denn steta bildet ein deal
Schecknehmei fremdes Verii&Itnia das Klagefimdament, und der Scheokinbaber wiid, weil cr
alien hier maJlgebenden Vereinbanmgen und Abmochungen feniateht, in der Regel auf die
MitwiAung des Auaatellera angewieaen eein. Dem Scbeckinhaber wUrde alao, wenn der Au»-
eteller ihm nicht beiateht, das direkte Klagerecbt aehr wenig nQtien. Darmn empfiehlt es tub
auch fUr das einheitUche Scheckgesetz nicht, einen scheckrechtlichen Anspruch des InhabeiB
Wahrend der Auasteller sum Beiogenen nie erat durch die Schecknebung, aonderti be-
reits durch den sogenannten Scheckvertrag in ein beatinimtes R«cbtsvetli&Itnia tritt, wicd
ein Bolches RechtflrerhsJtnis zwischen dem Ausateller imd dem Schecknehmer immer imr
durch den Verlauf dea Scheckgeach&fts, durch den Akt der B^ebung hervotgebracht. DnS
in der Begebung ein stillaohweigender Vertrag eu sehen ist, ist ullgBrnfin aoerkannt. Wie
aber dieser Vertrag juristiach eu beurteilen ist, ist von jeher streitig geweeen. Infolge dieso'
Teracbiedenartigen juristiachen Beurteilung, die auf die verschiedene livilrechtlicbe Auffas-
Bung der Sachlage in den einzelnen Lftndem curUckzufUhren ist, empfiehlt es aich nicht, im
Weltscheckrecht eine Beatimmung zu treffen, vielmehr muQ die Fraf<e, wieweit der Nehmtr
dea Schecka auf die Deckung berecbtigt sein aoU, den Landeageeetioi Eur Regelung vtnbe-
balten bleiben.
V. Indoaaament
Der durch Indoesament Qbertragbare Orderscheck ist in sSmtlichen Staaten eingefOhrU
Veiwhieden dagegen wird die Frage beantwortet, ob der Scheck der OrdeiUauBel bedarf, um
indoeaierbar eu aein, oder ob er grundaitslich indoaaierbar ist, so daJ3 ea einer beaonderen Klsn-
ael bedOrfe, um die Indoaaibilitat ausEuschlieasen. Fttr daa Weltscheckrecht dflrfte ea aidi
empfehlen, aich dem letEteren Standpunkt anEuschlieflen. Die Rechtswiikung dee Indoask-
menta iat die, daJi der Scheck auf den Indosaatar ttbertragen wird. Der Indoeaatar kann den
Scheck welter indoaaieren, entweder durch Voll- oder Blankoindoeaament. Der Scheckadiukl-
ner hat eine Pflicht lur L^timationaprQfung; lahlt er obne PrOfung, ao wird er von Miner
Verbiodlichkeit nicht befreit. Der Scbeckschuldner muB femer die Identit&t des Scheokin-
habers mit der Person, auf welche die formale Legitimation lautet, prOfen. Zur IMlfung der
Indoesamente kann er nicht verpflichtet werden.
Ein Indoesament dea Beiogenen ist unwirkaam; dasaelbe kOnnte bei einem Inhaber-
Bcheck auch ohne vorangegangenea Indoaaament an ihn oder bei Schecka mit einem Blanko-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 196
indoaBMoaent TC^commen und wQide eine abvtrakto Sohuldverpflichbmg gegmOber jedem
epttenn Inhaber ohne Rdckaicht auf doa Vorhandauein einee GuthabeDs begrOnden, also
dieadbe Bedeutung baben, wie ein AiuwbitMvermeric. Es ist daber ebenw wie letiterer im-
Die Scbeckscbuld ist eime Holschuld, d. b. der Schuldner ist nicht verpflichtet, die gescbul-
dete Surome dem Scbeckinbaber bei F&Uigkeit voa selbat niEUstellen. Die RQcksicht auf
eineo otdnungBm&Bigen Verkebr gebietet, daC die Umlatifieit des Schecks begrenzt und die
Voriegungafriat nicht Iftuger auagedebnt niid, ala 2u einer zweckentepiecbenden Verwertung
des Schecks erforderlicb iet. Die Pr&eeQtationfifristen sind in den einEetaiea Lfiudem sehr
verschieden, und es v&ie sehr wilnachenswert, daH das einheitlicbe Scbeckgeseti feete Fristen
vorschieibt sowohl fUr daa Inland wie filr das Auslaitd.
Vn. EinlBsung
Was die EinlSeung des Schecks anbelangt, so liegt es im Inteiease des gesamten Zah-
lungsverkehrs, die Banablung tunlichat eu vermeiden. Die nicht baie Einl6sung geschieht
durch Verrecbnung. Der Inhaber kann die Annahme einer Teilsablung verweigem. L6st
der Beiogene einen ihm ordnungsgem&C voigelegten Scbeck trotE VorbandeoBeim einea aua-
reichenden Guthabena nicht ein, ao ist er dem Auseteller nach den allgemeinen bttrgeriich-recbt-
licben Bestimmungen zum Eraati dea durch die Michteinlteung entatandeuen Schadens
verpfiichtet. Auch der Tod oder die Geachaftaunf&higkeit des AuBatellera oder die GescbSfto-
unf&hi^eit des Beiogenen sind auf desen EinlCeungarecht ohne Kinfluli. Auch nach Ablauf
der Vorl^ungefrist ist der Beiogene lur EinlSsung berechtigt. Der Beiogene, der den
Scheckbetrag besahlt, kann nach deutschein Recht die Auah&ndigung des quittierten Scheoka
veiUngen.
Nach dem en^iacben Recht bat der Inhaber den beiahlten Scbeck ausiuh&ndigen, doch
iat ea streitig, ob er lur Quittungaleiatung verpflichtet ist. Daa franzSaiache und englische
Recht enthalten Ober die Art der EinlOsung keine Vorachrif ten, doch iat nach dem franid-
BJBchen und belgischen Recht die Quittungsleiatung auf dem Scheck vorgeschrieben. Nach
italienischem, portugieaiachem, rum&nischem, bulgarischem und schweiserischem Recht iat
die Schecluahlung nicht besonders ger^elt, vielmehr werden die enteprechenden wechael-
rechtlicben Normen auch auf den Scheckveritehr angewandt. Nach einigen R«chten ist der
Inhaber cur Annahme von Teikahlungen verpflichtet, in anderen Rechten ist nun Ausdruck
gebnicht, daQ er lur Annahme von Teilzahlungen nicht verpflichtet ist.
FQi daa einheitliche Scheckgeaets kommt folgendea in Betracht: „Der Bezogecke kann
Quittungsleiatung verlangeu. Der Inhabet ist nicht verpflichtet, Teiltahhmgen entgegenm-
nehmen."
Vm, mderruf
In Benig auf den Wideiruf des Schecks stehen aidi xwei Auffaseungen gegenUber. In
Ekigland kann der Auasteller den Scheck frei widemifen und der Scheck gilt nicht nur im
Falle des KonkurBes des Ausstelleia, aondem auch dann ala widerrufen, wenn der Beiogene
TOO dem Tode dea AuastellerB Kenntnia erhfilt. Die Under der franideiachen Gnippe er-
bticken dagegen in der Ubertragung eines Wechsels und Schecks gleichieitig die Zeasion des
Anspruohs auf die in des HKnden des Beiogenen befindliche Deckung. Daraua folgt ftlr dieee
Under der Qrundaati der UnwideirufUcbkeit des Schecks, eowie die weitere Bestimmung,
dafi der Scbeckinbaber im Falle des Eonkurses des AussteUera abgeaonderte Befiiedigung aua
dem Gntbaben verlangen kann. FOr ein einheitlicbeB Scheckgeseta empfiehlt es sich, awi-
■ehen dieeen Auffaaaungen die Mitte >u wfthlen tmd lu beetinunen, da£ ein Widerruf dee
Digitized byGoOgIC
196 INTERNATIONAL CONGEESS OF
Schecks erat nach Ablauf der VorlegungBfrist wiricsam sein aoll. DaC der Scheck auch nielit
imgOltig werde durch den Tod oder Eiotritt der GeschfiftsuDf&hi^eit dee AuaeteUaa, wohl
aber dadurch, daJ! dem Beaogenen die ErOSnuug des Eonkuises fiber das Vennagen des Aus-
otelleiB bekannt wird.
IX. TeRcchntuigBBciieck nnd gekreuzt«r Scheck
Das im ReicbiA>aiikverkehr und im Abrechnui^Bverkehr eingefOhrte Veibot der bann
Auezahlung eines Schecka durch den quer flber den Text gesetiten Vennerii „Nur mr V«-
rechnimg" tat in Deutechland so Qblich geworden, 6a£ bei den Reichsbankanatalten ein »Ai
gtoDer Teil der Torgelegten Schecka diesen Venueik trigt. Durch die VeirechnungBBchecka
wird die Gefahr, dall der Scheck von einem Unbekannten eingeiogen werden kaim, eifaeUich
verringert. Die Veirechnung gQt ak Zahlungsleistung und demiufolge die Voriegung nir
Vetreclmung als Voric^^ung lur Zahlung. Andere L&nder, insbeeondere F.ngland, keimen
daa Institut des „Cro6aLng." Die Eretuung ist entweder eine aUgemeine, wo die Zahhmg am
^e beliebige Bank oder an einen beliebigen BanUer geachehen kann, oder eie ist eine beson-
deie, wenn die Tiigung an den namhaft gemachten Bankier bewirkt wird. Das „Croatdjig"
wirkt inaofeni ersiehlich, als es den einielnen mehr und mehr datan gewOhnen wird, die Eao-
aenftUmmg durch einen Bankier bewerkstelligen und sich bei diesem ein Eonto anl^eu n
lasKn. Die Kreuiung wird durch den Veirechnungescheck ntcht eraetit, denn die Verrecfa-
mmgaklausel scblieOt priiuipiell jede Banuthlung aus, was beim „Croesmg" nicht der Fall iM.
Auch versagt der VerrecbnungHHcheck vielf ach im intematioDalen Vei^ebr. Erstdergekreoste
Scheck und der Vcirenhni ingwcheck nebeneinander eimOglichen die Ausstellung vcm '^dem
Bedarf enteprechenden Schecks mit fast unbedingtem Schuti gegen Diebetahl und Ffibchung.
Ea irt daber [fir das einheitliche Scheckrecht zu empfehlen, dafi nebra dem Veirechnungv-
•check auch gekreurte Schecks Eugelaseen werden.
X. R«gie8
Was die AusUbung des Regresses im Falle der Dishonoriening des Schecks betrifft, so
geHen hierffir in den meisten Staaten dieselben Gnindsfttie, wie sie fOr die AusQbung dee
Wechwh«greBsee bestehen. In Deutechland beetehen indes einige Veiscbiedenbeiten. Bo ist
fttr den Scheck an| Stelle dea Protestes die Prfideklarstitm lugelaaaen. Die Eb'faebung dm
Proteetes ist bei dem Wechsel am Zahlungatage lulfiaaig, sie muC spSteetens am cw^tm
Weiktage nach dem Zahlun^tage erfolgen. Dagegen kennt das deutsche Scheckrecht keine
FrotestfriBt; vielmehr muB hier der Protest vor Ablauf der VorlegungBfrist erboben warden.
FOr ein einheitliches Scheckgesetz empfiehit ee sich daher, fdr die AusQbung dee Scbecki»-
greases dieselben Normen wie tOr die AusQbung des WeohsehBgressea lur Anwendung n
So komme ich dasu^ Umpn z\i empfehlen, sich Hfttiin ausxusprechen, '^*ft eine Vereinhei^
liohung der Scheekrechte im Interesse von Handel und Industrie nicht nur wfinschenswert, son-
dem auch durchfohrbar ist, und daC die vom Deutscben Handelstage beechloesenen Leitsttae
eine gute Grundlage fOr die Vereinheitlichung der Scheekrechte bilden. Im 7-' " W" nwp h angr
damit mdchte ich Sie bitten, eine Idee lu beffirworten, welehe seit«na der deutachen Delega-
tion am Schhisse der diplomatischen Weltwechaelrechts-Eonfereni voigetragen worden ist.
Eb ist darauf hingewiesen worden, daJ!, wenn das Wechselrecht von den Staaten angencoumea
wird, es ndtig sein wOrde, fOr dieses Univetsalrecht auch einen Universal-Gerichtshof einau-
aetsen, welcher in letit«r Instani Qber die Streitfragen des Wettwecbsebechts su entscbeidoi
haben wUrde, und es ist beschloasea worden, doS die Konfereni an die R^erungen dw etn-
■elnen Staaten die Bitte richte, die Fnige eu ptDfen, ob es mj^jlich sein wQide, einen dnvrtign
gemeinaamen Gerichtahof fOr das Weltwechaelrecht ni schaSen. Ich glaube, daB dieae Idee
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMEBCE 197
eine aehr glackliche ist, weQ erst eine eisheitliche Rechteprachung eine Gew&hr AaHii bietet,
da£ das Weltwechselrecbt such eiolieitlich >ur AusfUhnmg gelangt.
Dieselben GrOnde, welche fUr die Etablierung einee Gerichtshofee fUr das Weltwechsel-
recbt eprechen, fObren auch mir Etablierung einea G«ricbtshofe8 fOr das Weltscheckrecht, und
ich bitt« Sie, da£ Sie Ibre Sympathie fUr dieeen Gedanken etwa in der Form aussprecheD, daB
der Internationale Handelakammer-KongreB die Idee, einen Gericbtahof fOr die Auslegung
des Weltwecbsel- tmd Weltacbeckrecbts au echaffen, mit groCer Sympatbie b^rllfit und die
Hegierungen auffoidert, dieaer Idee lur Verwirklicbung zu Terbelfen.
{CorUmtting m Frmeh)
MeaaieuiB, j'esptre que mu explications voua ont penuadja que I'lmification des lois du
ch^ue est utile et n^ceesaire pour le conunerce et Tinduatrie, et qu'il est possible d'atteindre
cette uniformity.
Mais runiformit^ des lois sur la lettre de change et le cheque ne pourra 6tre conservte &
moins d'etre soutenue et garantie par une juridiction commune.
Pout cela la deuxi^e conference diplomatique a adress^ aux gouvemements des Stats
qui y etaient repi^aentds la pri^ d'examiner la question s'il aerait possible d'^tablir une juri-
diction commune pour le droit commun en mati^ de lettres de change. Et nous pouvons
ajouter, en mati^ du (didque.
Je voua prie d'exprimer Totra sympathie pour cette id4e.
(ContimMug in Qtrman)
Hiemach beantrage icb:
Dor Handelskammer-Kongrefi wolle beschlieCen:
1. ,,Die Verainbeitlicbung der Scheokiecbte ist nioht nur wQnscbenswert, sondem auch
tlarchfOhibar. Der KongreS ricbtet an die einielnen Regieiungen die Bitte, dirae Verein-
hettlicbung auf einer baldmaglicbst lusammenauberufenden Staat«nkonferenE vonubereiten.
2. Eine notwendige Ergftnzung sur Schafiung eines Weltwecbsel- und Weltecheckrechts
bildet die Euuicbtung eines Gericbtshofee im Haa^, weicher die Streitfragen im WeltnmJKsel-
und Weltscheckrecht in letster Tnat^n* m entaobeiden bat." (fieiJaQ.)
(Tnntiaium)
Gentlemen:
The Fourth International Congrees of Chambeis of Commerce, held in London,
June, 1910 passed the following resolution as i^aids international legislation on checks:
"Tb.% Congress accepts with interest the documents submitted to it and postpones for
the order of the day of its next meeting tlie quwtion on band for the purpose of render-
ing more complete the study thereof, expressing at the same time its entire sympathy
eonceming tlie suggestion of the unification of international l^islation on checks."
The more tiiorougb study of the question which tlie Congress looks forward to is
^ected as far as Germany ia ooncemed by tlie publication on tlie part of Dr. Trumpler,
under the instructions of tlie Chamber of Commerce at Frankfort, of a systematic com-
parative treatise on the laws on checks as promulgated by all oiviliied nations, and also
by the fact that Privy Councillor Dr. Felix Meyer, upon being requested to do so by
"Die Xltesten der Kaufmannscbaft von Berlin," as he also has dtme in the case of the
laws existing aa bills of exchange, has made a thorough study concerning the unifica-
tion of the laws <Hi checks, a woik of which the first parts have already been published.
Moreover, the Executive Committee of "Der Deutsche Handelatag," at its meeting held
on the 24tb of June at Cologne, baa taken up the same question and has arrived at tlie
conviction that tbe unification of the laws on checks is not only desirable in behalf of
commerce and industry, but ia also, by all means, a thing ciq>able of being carried into
^ect. Tbe Committee baa agreed on a series of fundamental principles which appear
Digitized byGoOgIC
IS INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
to me an excellent basis for the creation of a universal law on checks and, tberefore, witlt-
out going too much into details, I ahall confine myself to further eubstantiating the
said fundamental principles.
But before entering upon the subject I feel it my duty to lay atresa on the excellent
reeulte realised by the second diplcanatic conference on laws on billa of exchange held
on the ISth of June, 1912, inaemuch as the same has brou^t about & convention of
the States excepting the United Statee and England. The Inteniati(«ial Congrece of
Ghan^TB of Commerce, which from its beginning has done eveiything to bring about
a universal law on bills of exchange, can truly be proud of this result. The course
of the negotiations bearing on univeraal legislation on bills of exchange is such there-
fore, as to promise a great deal m behalf of univeisal l^islation concerning checks.
L D«finitioii
The first question which presents itself is whether or not the law should contain
any definition of a check or should confine itself to determining the eesmtial oonditiona to
be met by an instrument to be considered as a check. This much, I believe, has beoi
established by the historic development of the entire check question, — that the view
repreeented by the English group, according to which a check is merely a variety rf a
bill of exchange, can no longer be considered correct. But the attempta likewise of the
French group which tried to establish a legal definition of the check give rise to dooht
and confirm the old adage: omnit dtfiniHo ttt peneultMa.
Beaidea that, definition appears unneceesaiy provided that, as is done in the
German check law, one confines oneself to enumerating the essentia] requidtea of the
check. I understand, too, tiiat the conference upon universal legislation on bills of
exchange, which also took up cursorily the question of legislation on checks, has deasted
from establishing any legal definition of a check and has merely confined itself to ex-
pressing what it considered to be the essential requisites of a check. I believe, therefore,
that as a first fundamental principle I may submit to the consideratitni of the Congress
the following:
n. PassiTe Capacity
One of the moat discussed questions is whether or not the number of persons on
whom checks may be drawn should be restricted. There are laws which only admit
the passive capacity of a banker, laws which consider a banking institute a credit institute
and merchants as being passively capable and which provide for unlimited passive
capacity. Finally, there are laws which prescribe a scHcaUed dcl)it regulation for the
relations between bankers and institutions of equal standing and which require the use (^
revKiue stamps on all checks which do not meet these requirnnents.
The question thus arisee, which is the point of view to be taken by univeraal legis-
lation on checks. There is no doubt but that the industrial vahie <rf a check can only be
realised by its being drawn on persons or firms whose occupation it is to accept the funds
ci thiid parties on deposit and to make payments for their account. Only in this way is
it poesible to obtain sufficient accumulations of capital at such places to be accessible and
Kvail^le for the general requironents of busiitess. And it must also be oonceded that
the larger the number of drawees the greater the difficulties in the clearing through which,
by means of booking and transfers by certificate, a considerable saving in specie in circu-
lation can be brought about. Nevertheleas, according to my opinion, universal legislation
on checks could not take the point of view of F.n glui}! jurisprudence according to whidi
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 199
a banker can be the drawee, because even if the definition of the word banker were in
reality sufficiendy clear (which it is not) to enable the person in whose favor the check
is drawn to aBcertain whether he has received a check which is valid or not, one ehould
not, without absolute necesEdty, interfere with the ecooomic development of other great
States, such as France, where notaries in their quality as trustees frequently have cox
hand cash deposits of which the deposited dispose by means of checks. Nor is there
any reaeon why large export and import houses with transatlantic or transpacific branches
in places where there are no banks should be prevented fiom having checks drawn on
themselves. For this reason, universal legislation on checks may declare desirable that
checks should only be drawn on bankers and equivalent institutions, while on the other
hand checks drawn on other parties must not be declared void or non-valid. I therefore
propose to you to adopt for the international law on checks the following;
" It should be determined that checks should be only drawn on a banker, but checks
drawn otherwise, that is, on a party not a banker, shall not be void in law."
m. Essential Elements of the Check
Assuming that a check is an order to pay, producing l^al obligations, it is in the
interests of business security that this order ebnild be represented by a written instrument
tipon whiidi all legal questions regarding check transactions are based. Thence results
the first requisite for the form of the check. That is to say, it should be in writing. It
is likewise self-evident that the maker's signature must appear on the check as an
essential element, because without it the check could not be paid. The provisions in the
various countries difier as to whether the character of the check must be indicated on
the same. The fact that the United States and England have checks without the so-
called check clause is due to the circumstances tliat there the check is a bill of exchange
of a special kind and in fact is considered equal to a draft unless it is drawn on a banker.
Yet for a document which is to be used as an equivalent of currraicy, the insertion of the
check clause as an essential element is to be recommended inasmuch as it removes all
doubt as to the intention of the parties and also because the check clause recalls to tho
makerthefactlhatby this document he disposes of a deposit held by the drawee and tliat
he exposes bi™>lf ta criminal proceedings in case he issues the check wiUiout the same
being provided for. I understand also that the dipk^natic conference has decided in
favor of the check clause.
The requirements of tiie payment clause, that is to say, the instructions ^en a
person or firm by the maker to pay frtun his deposit a certain amount of money, is not
insiated upon in all States, but even in cases where its necessity is not expressed specially
it is at any rate considered indispensable. All agree that the instructions to the drawee
must be given unconditionally and must not be made dependent upon any counter-
consideration. This spears also to have been the point of view taken by the diplomatic
The indication of the amount of money is everywhere considered as an indis-
pensable requirement for all checks. The International Conference has without doubt
considered it understood that only checks calling for money eould form the object of a
uniform law. The transfer check is not suited to being put within the scope of a uniform
ebeck. law and it must be left to the banks to r^ulate the use of such a document by
means of special conditions.
It is an open question whether the designation of the place of payment is to be con-
sidered as an essential element of a check. Yet, for a universal check law it might be
well to recommend the indication of the place of pigment as an essential element.
According to the German law if no place of payment is given, the place at which
the check has been made is consideredtheplace for payment; according to the Austrian
Digitized byGoOgIC
[RJ INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Iaw, however, the place where tiie drawee has his principal place of buaiiieas. Hm
latt«r provisioii is decidedly unfair because in numerous cases where a banker, as
drawee, has a number of principal officee a clear definition of the place of payment is
simply out of the question.
The designation of the place where the check has been made is of particular im-
portance because from tiie date appearing there it is shown whether it ia a domestic or
a foreign check, — a matter which is of importance when determining the term for
presentation.
Also the day on which the check is made is for each such document of great impor-
tance because the beginning of the term for presentation can only be calculated from the
date of the making thereof.
Inasmuch as the object of the check is to be converted immediately int« read;
money and inasmuch as its degeneration into a mere credit pspet or credit documoit
must be prevented, the condition payable at sight should also be accepted for the uni-
Tersal check law.
Amongst the inessential elements of a check, — that is, such elements as could
be dispensed with without interfering with the validity of a check, — are the provision
clause and the indication of the payee. As r^aids the provision clause, the T^glinti law
does not contain any, altiiough their strict oranmercial custom keeps the use of checks
within well-defined limitations. Further the provision clause appears superficial for a
universal check law because the characteristic quality of the "docimient" is already
defined and indicated by tlie check clause. He who issues a check knows that by so doing
he disposes of a "provision" or deposit in his favor.
The insertion of Uie provision clause as an essential element of the check is not to
be recommended, either, for the reason that the word "provision" (deposit in favor of
some one) is interpreted differently by the different laws; and this is the resson why it
cannot be recommended, that in the universal check law the provision clause should be
inserted as an essential requirement.
Nor does the defdgnation of the payee appear to be essential. A check on which the
payee is not sfwcified is simply treated as check payable to bearer.
As essential elements of a check, should be declared:
(a) Signature of the maker.
(5) Designation of the drawee.
(c) Check clause.
(d) Pigment clause.
(e) Indication of amount.
CO Indication of place and date of mubing.
On the other hand, the following may be considered as non-eesential elements:
Provision clause.
Designation of payee.
Designation of the place of payment.
IV. The Check in Regular Transactions
For a check passing through the regular channels of business the following relations
are to be taken into consideration ;
(a) The relation of the drawee to the drawer or maker.
(ft) The relation of the drawee to the bearer.
(c) The relation of the drawer and the endorsers to ths bearer.
As regards the relation of the drawee to the maker, it is understood that this is
based on the agreements made between the two, that is, the so-called check agreement
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 201
based on which the depositor ia entitled to dispose of his deposit with the drawee by
means of cheeks. It is not to be recommended that this check agreement should be
fixed and defined by law in case of uniform check legislation, because this is a matter
which involves conditions which are of basic importance for the making of checks but
which are not expressed in the check itself.
The question as to whether the holder of a check ehould be given the same right of
action against the drawee which obtains against the drawee on the part of the maker of
the check pursuant to the l^al relations existing between tbem as far as the payment
of the check is concerned, is decided differently by the various laws existing thereon.
The direct right of action of the holder of the check against the drawee is only recc^-
nised in those countries which assume that the delivery of tiie check to a third party
involves also the transfer of tlie claim for payment, as is done in France, Belgium and
Italy. In a universal check law it would not be recfonmended to admit a direct claim
resulting from a check, against the drawee, because the foundation for the action would
at all times be a relation with which the bearer of the check is not familiar, and inasmuch
as the bearer of the check is not acquiunted with all the agreements and contracts which
are decisive here he would as a rule be forced to resort to the co-operation of the maker.
In odier words, unless the maker aseiste the holder of the check, the direct right of action
would be of very little avail. It would, therefore, not seem convenient that a universal
check law should embody a legal claim of the checkholder against the drawee.
While the relation of the maker to the drawee is not established at any time by the
making of a check only, but above all by the so-called check agreement, such a relation
as betwem the maker and the first holder of the check is only broi^t about in the courae
of the check transaction, but is the delivery. It is generally recognised that the delivery
involves a silent agreement, but at all times it has been an undecided question in law
as to how titis contract shotdd be interpreted l^^y. Owing to this different conception
from the l^al i>oint of view which must lead to varying interpretation of the matter
according to the various civil codes, it scarcely would be recommended to insert a provi-
sion in the imivereal check law covering this point and it would rather seem neoessaiy
that the question as to bow far the first holder of the check is to be entitled to re-
covery should be left to the decisions of the respective countries.
The check to order, transferable by endotaement, is recognised in all States, but tlie
provisions » to whether a check requires the order clause to become capable of endotae-
ment, or whether it is endoreable at all events, so that it would requite a special clause
to exclude the possibility of endore«neut, vary in different countries. For the universal
check law it might be recommended to adopt the latter point of view. The legal effect
of the eodorsement is the transfer of the check to the peraon in whose favor it is en-
dorsed; the latter can further endorse a check either by an endorsement in full or by
an endcHsement in blank. It is the duty ot the payer to verify the authenticity of the
signatures; if he pays without such verification he ia nevertheless not released from hia
obligation. The payer must further verify the identity of the check-holder with the
perooQ to whom the check appears payable originally. He cannot be obliged to verify
the previous endoraements.
An endorsement on the part of the drawee is not effective. The same might occur
on a check to bearer without previous endorsement to liim or on checks with a blank
oidorsanent and would prove an abstract obligation as against any later holder without
any consideration concerning the existence of the requisite provision. It would, there-
fore, have the same signification aa an "acceptance." Bath are therefore ineffective.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
VL PresenUtian
The obligation represented by a check is a debt to be eoUect«d. That is to aay:
the creditor is not obliged to tranemit to the holder of the check the amount due. For tlie
eake of a buGine^elike transaction the t«nn for presentation of the check must be Unii-
ted and not be extended beyond the time necessary for a suitable utiliiation o! the cheek.
The terms within which a check must be presented differ very much and it would be
highly desirable that a uniform check law should prescribe fixed tenns both for domeetic
checks and checks payable abroad.
Vn. Payment
As regards the payment of the check, it is in the interest of general exchange to
avoid payment in specie as far as possible. Settlements other than in cash are made oo
accounts. The holder can refuse to accept a partial payment. If the drawee fails to
pay a check presented to hiin in due form in spite of the provision of a sufficient balance,
be becomes liable under the general civil code to the amount of any damage suffered
through the non-payment. The death or business inc^iacity of the maker or the businen
incapacity of the drawee are without influence on the right to payment. Even afl«r the
eipiration of the torm of presentation the drawee is permitted to pay the check. The
drawee under the German law is entitled to obtain poesesfflon of the receipted check
after payment.
According to Rn g liwh law the bearer is obliged to deliver the paid check altitou^ it
is a question whether he is obliged to give a receipt. The French and Ti^^'g>' laws
contain no provisions in regard to the method of payment, but according to Pimdi
and Be^ian laws receipt on the check is required. Italian, Bulgarian, Portuguese, Rou-
manian and Swiss laws do not specially deal with the payment of checks, but the oon^
sponding portirais of the laws relating to bills ot exchange ate usually applied to check
transactions. In some l^islatioD tlie bolder of the check is obliged to acoept partial
payment while other laws stipulate that he is not obliged to accept partial paymat.
For the uniform check law the following is suggested: "The drawee may r«quMt
receipt. The payee is not obliged to accept partial payment."
Vin. Revocation
In regard to the revocation of checks there are two contradictoiy ideas. In T-JnglaTiH
the maker can cancel a check at will, and the check is not only void in the case of the
bankruptcy of the maker but also when the drawee is notified ot the death of the maker.
The countries of the French group, however, view the n^otiation of checks and drafts
as an assignment of the right to the funds in the possession of the drawee. This leads
these countries to the principle of the irrevocability of the check as well as the further
provision that the holder of the check in case of the bankruptcy of the maker may
demand a separate settlement from the credit balance. For a uniform check taw it is
desirable to adopt a medium between these two conceptions and to provide that a
cancellation of the check shall only be effective aft«r the expiration of the term fw
presentation. That the check should not become void through the death or busineaa
incapacity of the maker; but the check should be void on notice to tiie drawee of the
insolvency of the maker.
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
IX. Transfer Cbeck and Crossed Check
The practice in businesa with the Imperial Bank and in clearing transactions of for-
bidding payment of a check in cash by the inacription "for transfer only" written
aoroaa the face of the check has become so common in Germany that a large proportion
of the checks presented at the branches of the Imperial Bank bear this notation. By
means of the transfer check the risk of its cdlecticm by an unautliorized person is
materioUy reduced. Hie entry counts as p^ment and cooaequently the presentation
for depodt as presmtatJon for payment. Other countries, particularly Enghmd, have
a eyetem kitown as "crossing." The "crossing" is either general, in which case pay-
ment can be made through any bank or banker, or ia a apeciol crossing, in which caae
payment can only be made tlirough the authoriied banker. The croemng ia desirable
in one respect as it accustoma individuala more and more to handle their funds
through a banker and therefore to open bank accounts. The crossing is not exactly re-
placed by the tranafer check, since the transfer clause absolutely excludes payment in
cash, which is not the case with crossing. The transfer check has also some weak-
Qeasee aa r^orda international transactions. Only the crossed check and the transfer
check both would provide checks for every use with practically complete protection
against theft and forgeiy. It is therefore deeirable for the uniform check law to permit
both the tranafer check and the crossed check.
X. XeconrBe
As regards recourse in case a check is dishonored, in moat countries the same princi-
ples are applied as for bills of exchange. In Germany, however, there are some varia-
tions. For instance, in tiie case of a check a personal declaration may be subatituted for
protest. The protesting of a draft is permitted for the draft at maturity and must be
done not later than the second working day after the dat« of maturity. On the other
hand, the German check law names no period for protest although the protest should
take place before the expiration of the term of presentation. It is therefore desirable
that the unifoim check law should provide the some remedies in case of checks aa for
drafts.
I therefore wish to recommend to you, to express the idea, that a unification of
l^islation relative to checks is not only desirable in the interests of commerce and in-
dustry but is likewise possible of realization, and that the principles decided by "Der
Deutsche Hondelatag" form a good foundation for the unification of check laws. In
connection therewith I would ask you to favor an idea presented by the German dele-
gation at the close of the diplomatic conference in regard to the international laws on bills
of exchange. Reference was made to the fact that ahould the nations adopt the law on
bills of exchange it woidd be necessary to have for this international law also on inter-
national court which would decide in the last instance on disputes in regard to the in-
ternational law on bills of exchange and it has been decided that the conference should
addres the request to the govemmmts of the various States to consider the question
whether it would not be possible to create such a universal court of law relative to bills
of exchange. I believe that this idea is a veiy good one inasmuch as only a uniform
judiciary can guarantee that the international law on bills of exchange shall be uniformly
enforced.
The same reasons which speak for the establishment of a court of law for an intema-
ticotal law on bills of exchange would also lead to the creation of a court for the inter-
national check law, and I beg of you to express your sentiment in favor of this idea,
possibly in the form that the International Congress of Chambers of Commerce ac-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
204 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
cepta with ai^roval, the idea of creating a court of law for the interpretation at the
i]it«n>ational laws relative to checks and bUla of exchange, and invitM the gorenuDorti
ta co-operate in its realization.
Gentlemen, I hope that my explanations will have convinced you that the unifica-
tion of legislation relative io checks is useful and necessary for commerce and industiy
and tliat it is possible to attain such uuifonnity.
But uniformity of r^ts in matten of bills of exchange and checks cannot be maiih
tuned unless auatained and guaranteed by some common jurisdiction.
For this reason the second diplomatic conference hae addreeeed to the natioiul
goremmenta which were there represented the request to consider tlie queoticM) wheAs
it would be possible to establish a common jursidiction for the universal law relative to
bills of exchange. And we might add also relative to checks.
And I would ask you, therefore, to express your concurrence in this idea.
I therefore move:
That the Congress <A Chambers of Commerce shall resolve,
1. " The unification of l^islatJon relative to checks is not only desirable but pooa-
ble of attainment. The Confess directs to the various governments the pW to take
steps towards such unification through an international conference to be convoked u
soon aa posmble.
2. An essential supplement to the cieation of an international law relative to t^Sk
of exchange and checlu wiU be the establishment of a court in The Hague which shall
decide dilutes relative to international law on bills of exchange and chedcs in the last
instance." (Jpplouse.)
(Conliiuiing in EnglUh)
Gentlemen, I have explained that the differences b the laws of the check ore not so great
that it would be impossible to realiie unification. And I hope that even if you are not all in
perfect agreement with me, you will at least be in sympathy with the unification of the law
of the check. But it is not sufficient that the law of the check and exchange are unified; it
is still more necessary tliat a high court may be established for the int«rpretatioD of the ques-
tions concerning the unified law of the check and exchange.
H. le Prfindent: M. Apt nous a done comments les dfaisiona les plus rfieentes. Vow
saves, messieurs, que cette question du cheque a £te traitfe t, La Haye. On nous demande
done maintenant d'^ettre un vceu en faveur de I'unification du ch^ue et d'une Ifgislatian
qui permettrait que tous lee pays puissent 6tre traits de la mbne fa^on.
Je donne la parole it I'orateur suivant, M. AuiEinA, du Brisil.
(Tran^aiion)
Mr. Apt has commented on the most recent decisionB. You know that tltie ques-
tion of the check has been treated at The Hague. We are now asked to espren a widi
in favor of the unification of the check and of legislation which would allow all countries
to be treated alike.
I give the floor to the next speaker, Mr. AuoiinA, of Brasil.
Dr. Candido de Hendes de Almeida, Official DdegaU of Ae Oovemmenl of BraxH; Director (^
lAe Commercial Afuwum, Bio de Janeiro
Messieurs:
Je vous demande la permission de parler en fran^ais, parce que ma langue natiooale
n'est pas reconnue comme langue officielle, et je ne puts pas, aprfs trente jours d'£tude
de I'anglais, m'exprimer dans cette langue de fagon i, fitre compris.
Comme repr^sentant du gouvemement Br^ilien, comme repr^sentant aussi de la Vt&k-
ration des AsBOciations Commerciales du Br^ — lee associations conunerciales, ce sont des
chambres de commerce — nous avons organist la F^fration des Associationa Commerciales
„Google
CHAMBEBS OF COMMERCE 205
k BicMle-Jaiieiro, U eapHale — H aumi comme repr^eeotant du Conseil dee courtierB en mar-
ch&itdises de n&TiieB — o'eet aussi ime orgamaatioQ dee courtiers &veo intervention du
gouTemement. Ces institutione-li ont un int^rtt iaorma dans le chlque, parce qu'ellee
reprisentent tout le commerce, o'eet-i-dire taae ceux qui ont dcs intMts dans les relations
commerciates. Si j'ai eu le courage de prendre la parole dans cette asaemblfe si distingu^e et
si compitente, c'est simplement parce que j'ai voulu, devant ce grand Congrte, oil sont rSunis
les repr^eentants les plus distingu^s du monde entier, offirmer I'exiatence du Brdail.
Je voua demande pardon, messieurs, de parler aiiui, mais j'ai lu tous lea rapporta, et j'ai
constats que Ton y fait dea r^^rences k des pays, qui sont, certainement, dignea d'etre mea-
tionn^, mais des pays qui n'ont pas plus que mon pays, le BtM, le droit d'etre dtudife.
Le Br^sil, mesaieurs, est im pays trte malheureux. II fait des efforts ^oormes pour £tre
connu, il fait des efforts &iormea poiu- d^tmtrer sa CEq>acit^, il fait des efforts tooirnes pour
d6inontrer son intelligence, il fait des efforts 6normes pour dfoaontrer qu'il accompagne,
pas i, pas, tous les mouvements de la science, tous lea mouTements de I'iiidustrie, tous les
monvements du comiuerce; eh bieni messieurs, on ne trouve pas le nom du Brisil quand on
parle des droits dea peuplee.
Meesieura, le Br^dl, c'est le plus grand pays de I'Am^que du Sud. C'est un pays qui
a trento-neuf millions de kilomdtrea carrfs, et toutes ses teires sont continues, aont fertiles,
sont utiles, sont productives. C'eat le pays du caf^, c'est le pt^ du caoutchouc; et a'il enste
dans le monde une industrie du caoutchouc, ce sont les grandes foists de I'Amaione qui cot
donn^ naiasanee k oett« grande induetiie, laquelle est k I'heure pi^sente trts bien expoe^e k
"I'lntemation^ Exposition of Rubber," k New-Yoric. C'est du BrMl que aont sorties lea
aemences qui ont produit lea grandea cultures de I'lnde, de Ceylan et des autna parties de
Ce grand pays, qui a Ting1>^eux millions d'habitants, la grande majority de ses habitants
est compoa£e d'honuoes biases, avec une trte petite proportion d'indig^nes. Partout, on de-
mande ai, au BrSail, nous sommes des nSgrea. Eh bienl je voua I'affirme, sous la responsa-
bilit^ que j'ai comme repr^sentant de mon gouvemement, soua la responaabilit^ que j'ai
comme repr^eentant de la FMiratioo des Associations Commerciales du Br^sil, je vous I'afiEirme,
nous sommes dea descendants des Portugais, des Italiens, des Allemands, des Fran^ais et des
autres peui^ d'Europe.
Je TOUS I'affirme aussi, nous faisons tous les efforts possibles pour 6tre d'accord avec to
mouvonent ^Tolutiooniste du monde civilian. Nous sommes les plus grands producteun de
eaf£ au monde, nous eonunes lea plus grands producteura de caoutchouc, pour ne paa parler
d'autiea choses.
Four ne pas retenir trop loi^temps votre attention, je vous dirai moplement, que j'ai
pris hier, sur cette table, un journal am£ricain, oil j'ai eu le plaisir de lire . . .
(TVonsIolion)
Gentlemen:
I beg leave to speak in French, because my national tongue is not recognised as an
official one, and I cannot after thirty days of study of the English language express my-
self M as to be understood.
Aa a representative of the Braailian Govermnent and of the Federation of C<Hn-
mercial Aasociationa of Brazil, the latter being chamben of commerce — we have or-
ganised the Federation of Commercial Associations at Rio de Janeiro, the capital — as
representative also of the Brokers' Council in Ship-merchandise, this being also a
brokers' organiiation under govenunent control — I wish to say a few words. These
institutions are greatly interested in the check, for they represent the whole commerce,
aU those who have interest in commercial relations, in BrasU. If I have the courts
to speak in so diatinguiahed and bo competent an assembly, it is simp^ because I have
wished, in the presence of this great Congress in which the moat diatinguished repre-
sentatives of the whole world are united, t« assert the existence of Braiil.
Digitized byGoOgIC
206 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
1 beg your indulgence, gentlemen, if I apeak Uiua, but I have read all the reports
and have found references made to countries which are certainly worthy to be
mentioned, but which nevertheless have no more right than Bratil to be studied.
BraEil is a very unfortunate country. Her efforts to become known, to deraoostnte
her capacity, to show her intelligence, to prove that she followB step by et«p all the
movements of science, of industry and of commerce, are very great; and Brasil'a name
ie not even mentioned in connection with Uie rights of the people.
Bnwil, gentJemen, is the greatest country of Soutii America. It has thirty^iine
million square kilometers of extent, and all it« lands are fertile, utilisable and pity
ductive. It is the land of coSee, rubber, and if the world po nooooen a rubber ioduEtiy
it is due t« the great forests of the Amaion, as at present very well shown at the In-
ternational Rubber Exposition in New York. Out of Brasil came the seeds that have
produced the great crops of India, Ceylon and other Asiatic countries.
This great land contains twenty-two million inhabitants, the great m&jority white,
with a very small proportion of natives. It is asked everywhere if we are all cxiloced
in Brazil. But I assert upon my responsibility as a Govenunent representative, upon
my teeponaibility as a representative of the Federati<ai of Commercial AssooiaUans of
Brazil, that we are descendants of Portuguese, Italians, Germans, Frenchmen and other
European peoples.
I assure you olao that we make all possible efforts to attune ouiBelvm with the
evolutionist movement of the civilized world. We are the greatest produo^a of
coSee in £he world, the greatest producers of rubber, not to speak of anything else.
I do not wish to monopolize your attention much longer but will tell you simply
that yesterday I took from this table an American newspaper, in which I read with
pleasure . . ■
One Voix: Cheque — cheque,
(rrontlotitnt)
A Voicb: Check — Check.
H. le President: Pariet du cheque.
(Trantlatum)
Speak about the check.
U. Almeida: Je vous demande pardon. Si j'ai fait c«tt« exorde, c'est pour vous ii-
montret pourquoi nous avons le droit d'dtre entendus sur la question du cheque. Je lis dans
ce journal: "Le Br^sil a exports aux Ctato-Unis pour 128,000,000 de dollars . . ."
(TrarutaHtm)
I beg your pardon. If I made this divendon, it was tA show why we are entitled
to be heard on the question of the check. I read in that newBp^>er: "Brazil has
exported mto the United States merchandise to the value of 9128,000,000."
noaieiirs Voix : Cheque — Cheque.
(Trantlaiion)
Sevkbal Voicib: Check — Check.
H. le Prtddent: Farions du cheque.
{Tmutaiimii
Let us speak of the check.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 207
U. Almeida; Eh bieni meesieurB, but la questioo du clidque, j'ai le plaisir de Toua din
que le BrSsil a promulgu6, le eept ao(tt de cett« ann^e, une loi reDfeim&nt toutea tea aspira-
tkma sur le cheque; j'ai le plaieir de voua dire que toutes lee aspiratione exprimiea dans le
r^iport de M. Apt aoat d£j& incluee dana la loi qui est prjaentement en foroe au Brtsil. Vingt-
deux millions d'hommea ont dijk mis cee choaea en pratique.
Sur la question de I'unification du chktue, la loi a d6clar€ que toua ceui qui auraient dee
fends disponibles dans lea banques ou entree les mains dea commergants — et c'eet 1& le point
inUrewant — j'ai lu dans les rapports qu'il y a une grande discussion pour savoir si le obSque
doit dtre tir6 seulement contie lee banquee et les associations similaiies. — Au Bi^ail, on a eu
rid6e de faciliter la circulation du ch^e et en m6me temps de le garantir d'une taigoti com-
pile.
Vous saves, meesieuis, que cea pays nouveauz n'ont paa autant de facilitte pour la cir-
culation du num&aire; alora, ils ont besoin de faciliter la circulation du ptquei qui reprteente
I'argent; mais en mfime temps, ils ont I'obligation de garantir cette circulatioD, de fa^ion que
le cmnmerce n'ait pas de surprises ni de deceptions.
Eh bienl nous avons itabli, & I'aiticle premier de la loi, que le cheque pourrait £tre tir6
oontre les banques et centre les commergants. Mais, naturellement, cette eqnession, "com-
merganta," eat Ufe i, noa traneactaona commarcialea; c'eet4-dire que le commeiyant, dans le
sens de la loi, eat oelui qui ^est enregjetrd coavenablement aelon lea loia reepectivee.
La loi ^tablit ausai la aipiiflcation du mot "fonds." Qu'eat«e que Ton entend par fondsT
n y a d'abord les sconmea eziatantee en comptea courants "banqujres." Relativement k ces
lond&-l&, il n'y a pas d'autre exigence. lAoii ily a un cconpte courant "banqu^re," on peut
titer le cb^ue aans aucune autre consideration. Dans le cas d'un cunpte oourant contrac-
tuel, DU de I'ouverture d'un credit, pour tirer par chdque sur ces deux espdces de sommes
dues, 3 faut le oonaentement du tir£.
Ia loi sur la capaoiU active eat ctaiforme aux regies genfiralea dn droit civil. Cehii qui
jonit de tous see droits civils a la capacity active pour tirer.
Relativement k la c^acite passive, ]e vous ai d£jA expliqu^ la diSdrenoe que fut la loi
entre les banquee et les commergants.
Quant & la forme du cheque, notre toi eat conforme aux aq>irationa exprimfes dans le
rapport de M. Apt. Notre loi, qui n'est pas une aspiration, mais une loi 6crite et en force,
exige le mot "cb^que," 6crit en portugaia, — c'est notre langue — ou I'^quivalent en toute
autre langue. Elle exige ensuite le nom de la raison sociale ou de la personne qui doit payer.
Elle exige encore — et c'eet une question qui a ete trie discut^e — I'indication du lieu du
paiement. II ne suffit pas d'indiquer le nom de la banque, il faut indiquer la branche de
cette banque sur laquelle on tire — parce qu'une banque peut avoir pluBieurs branches, k
differente endroita. Four que le cheque aoit exigible, selon notre loi, il faut que t'on indique
trfa pr^eia^ent I'endroit oil doit dtre pay^ le ch^ue. Cette exigence de notre loi, Tindication
precise de I'endroit du paiement, eat la realisation de I'une de vos aspirations.
Notre loi etablit aueai — et en cela, elle innove sur toutes lee autres lois que j'ai vuea —
que le cheque, pour fitre cheque, doit etre k vue. Elle dit que le tire, qui regoit un cheque
mutiie, un cheque dechire, un cbdque portant de grosses taches d'encre, avec des dates sua-
pectes, avec des corrections, peut exiger des explications, et m&ne des garanties. Cela, c'est
une nouveaut^- J'en fais la mention, ce sera peut-4tre utile.
(TraTuiation)
Well, Gentlemen, aa regarda the check, I am pleased to say that Bratil has pro-
mulgated, August 7tb of thia year, a law containing aD ber ideas concerning the check,
and I am pleased to aay that all tbeae aspirations expressed in Mr. Apt'a report are
already included in the law which is now «iforced in Braiil. Twenty-two millioa men
have already put tliese things into practice.
Aa regards the unificatioD of the check, the law appUee to all pereona who have
depoaita which th^ can make use of, in banks or in the hands of tradera — and that ia
Digitized byGoOgIC
208 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
the inteteating point. I read in the reports that a great discustdoD k going on to find
out if a check should be drawn only on the banks and equivalent associatiooa. In
Brasil we had the good idea of facilitating the circulation of the check and gu&ranteesng
it at the some dme in a thorough manner.
You know, gentlnnen, th&t these new countries have not as nuny facilitiea f«r
the circulation of cash; they need therefore to facilitate the circulation of paper refne-
senting money. But at the same time they have the obligation of guaranteeing thia cir-
culation in such a way as not to cause fraud or deceptions, commercialty.
We have established, article fiiat of the law, that the check can be drawn cm the
banks and on the merchants. But naturally this expression, "merchant," ia connected
with our commercial transactions; that is to say, the merch&nt, in the eyee of the lam,
is a person properly registered.
Thus the law defines also the meaning of the word "funds." What are fundsT
We have in Hm first place such sums as exist in running acoounts "banquftres." Re-
garding these funds, nothing else is exacted. Where a running account "hanquiiti"
exists, a check may be drawn without any further consideration. In case of a running
account covering a contract or the opening of a credit, in order to draw a check against
two such sorts of obligations, the consent of the drawee is required.
The law on active capacity is in accord with the general clauses of the dvil law.
Whoever enjoys all his civil rights is capable of drawing.
Concerning tiie passive capacity, I have already explained to you the differeooe Uw
law makes between banks and merchants.
Regarding the form of check, our law agrees with the tenets e^iressed in Mr.
Apt's report. Our law which is not merely an aspiratim but is written and in force,
demands the word "check," written in Portuguese, our tongue, or the equivalmt in
some other language. It demands besides the name of the firm or of the person that
will have to pay. It also demands, and this question has been very much diaeusaed, the
indication of the place where the payment ia to be effected. It is not enough to indicate
the name of the bank, the branch of that bank on which one draws muat be indicated
by name, because a bank may have several branches at difFerent places. A check to be
demandable accordii^ to our Uw must bear very precisely the name of the place in
which the check b to be paid. Thia demand of our law, namely, the precise indicatkn
of the place of the payment, is the tealisation of one of your aspirations.
Our law also establiahea, and this is an innovation on all other laws I have eeett, that
the check must be at sight. It says that the drawee who receives a mutilated chec^
or a torn one, or one bearing big ink-spots, or suspicious dates or corrections, may
demand explanations and even guaranties, This ia an innovation, and I mentim it,
because it may be found useful.
H. le PrAddent: Comme documentation.
(Trantlation)
As a document.
H. Almeida: Qui. Je suppose qu'il n'est pas n^ceasaire d'enlrer dans plus d'explica-
tkms et de details. J'ai fait traduire toute notre loi en franfaia et en anglais, et elle sera in-
ttoduite dans lee travauz du Congrte.
ITrantlaiion)
Yes. I suppose that it ia not necessary to enter into more explanationa or details.
I have had a translation mode of our law into French and Elnglish, and it will be intro-
duced in the work of the Congress.
H. le PrSsldent: Nous verserons done la loi BrSsilienne au dossier comme documenla-
titai. Cette loi, Haal la realisation des aspirations du Congrte, est trte int^ressante.
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 209
ITraruUUicn)
We ahaQ depodt then the Brasilian Law among the official papera as a document.
The law, being a realisation of the aspirations of the Congress, is very interesting.
H. le President: MeseieuTB, je profite de I'occaaion pour vous faire quelques petit«s com-
munications.
Vous savei tous que I'on se propose de prendre la photogrsphie dee membrea du Congrte
k la sortie de la stance de ce matin, vraisemblablement vera midi et demi. L'annonce en a
6t£ faite au concert d'hier soir, je tous la r^pite.
Je Buis pri£ de vous faire savoir que, par invitation sp&iale de M. A. Lawrence Lowell, lea
d^Ugu^ qui d^sirent visiter I'UniverEit^ de Harvard peuvent se joindre k une soci^t^ qui quit-
tera I'hAtel cet apr^midi, de suite aprte la prise de la photc^raphie.
La demi^re communication que j'ai & faire est celle-ci: Par Buit« de retards dans la re-
ception dee notices officiellee et d'erreuie de correepondaocee, qui ont 6V6 en dehors du con-
trdle de la Chambre de commerce de Boston, le Congrte n'a pas €U inform^ en temps de la
d^aignation d'un certain nombre de d^l^u^s comme repr^eentant des gouvemements. Panni
ceux dont lee noms n'ont pas iti inclus dans la liste imprimte comme reprdsentant leur gou-
vemement, se trouvent:
M. Anobixi Salmoiraohj, de Milan, qui est membre du comity permanent, et qui est ausd
repr^sentant officiel du gouTemement de Sa Majesty le roi d'ltalie.
M. G. Di RoBA, consul italien k Boston, qui repr^eente ausai le gouvemement Italien.
Le Dr. Leonhakd Hocbdorf, reprdsentant le gouvemement Autrichien.
Le Dr. Enifuim EnNoei, reprdsentant le gouvemement Hongrois.
M. Abxl Pabdo, consul g^n^ral de I'Argentine k New-Yoric, repr^sentant la R^publique
Argentine.
M. S. Tamusa, vice-pi^aident de la Chambre de commerce de Kobe, repr^sentant le
M. Olof Hjobth, repr^aentant la SuMe.
Cividemment, la Chambre de commerce de Boston s'excuee de cea omiseiong, bien invo-
tontaires, et elle me chatge de vous ezprimer ses regrets.
S'il J a d'autres d£l^u£s repr^sentant leurs gouvememeittg, la Chambre de commerce
de Boaton leur serait tr^ recorniaisaante de vouloir bien ee faire connaltre au secretaire de
la Chambre.
M. AU.ABD a la parole.
(Tronalotton)
I take advantage et this opportunity to make to you a few annoimoementa.
The delegates are reminded tliat immediately after this morning's session, ae near
the hour of half past twelve as possible, the only official photograph of the delegates will
be taken. This announcement has been made at the concert yeaterday evening and I
repeat it to you.
By spedal invitation of Free. A. Lawrence Lowell delegates deairing to viat Har-
vard University may join a party which will leave the hotel this noon immediately after
the taking of the official photograph.
On account of delays in the receipt of the official notices and other errors in corre-
spondence which have been outside of the control of the Boston Chamber of Cconmerce,
the Congress has unfortunately not been informed of the appointment of a number of
delegates representing government.
Among those whose names have not been included in the printed list as representing
tJieir government are:
Mr. Anoelo SALUoniAaHi, of Milan, a member of the Permanent Committee and
official representative of the Government of His Majesty the King of Italy.
Mr. G. DI ROBA, Italian Consul in Boaton, who also represents the Italian
Govetwnent.
Digitized byGoOgIC
210 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Dr. Leonhabd Hochdobf, representing the Austrian Government.
Dr. Edmund Kunosi, repreaenting the Himgaiian Government.
Mr. Abel Pardo, Consul General of Ai^entina at New Yoric, representing the
Argentine RepubUc.
Mr. S. Taiidra, Vice-President of the Kobe Chamber of Ccnumerce, tcpreaenting
Mr. OLor Hjorth, representing Sweden.
The Boston Chamber of Commerce, of couiBe, wishes me to expreee its regrets for
these omiaeionB, entirely involuntal? on its part.
If there are other delegates who represent their govenunents we shall be obliged if
they will show their credentials to the Secretary of the Boston Chamber of Commerce
in order that their names may be included in the final list.
Mr. Allabd has the floor.
H. Bngine Alhtid, Pretidmt of Um Belgian Chamber of Commem of Paria
Mesraeurs:
Dans un rapport prfsent^ au nom de la Chambre de conunerce Beige de Paris, men
&ninBnt coUigue, M. H. A. Rau, a indiquS les moyens pratiques pour ^tendre I'usage du
cheque et restreindre les inconv&uents et les risques de I'emploi exag&£ du numeraire et dee
billeta de banque. S'il ne nous i4>partient pas de formuler un projet de loi oonoemant le
ohique, il eat Evident que nous devona k I'heure actuelle &nettre notre avis but la l^islation
la meilleure. Nous sommea pricis&nent dans une situation qui nous pennet de pr^ciaer,
d'une mani^re approfondie, ce que nous voulons, ce que le commerce mondial enge par I'^ta-
blissement du chdque.
La conference de La Haye s'est occupSe, vous v^ei de I'^piendre, de la legislation
imiforme du chdque pour tous les pays. Je crois qu'elle s'est occup£e fgalemMit de la legis-
lation BUT le cheque pour toua les pays, les desiderata du commense mondial; mats je ite sais
si la conf^nce de La Haye a pris pour le chique lea mfimea decisions qu'elle a prime pour la
lettre de change.
Nous sommes done dana I'ignorance la plus complete k ce sujet. Si mes lenseignements
Bont exacts, il paraltrait que la (»nf6rence de La H^« a renvoyfi k une stance prochaine
I'examen de la legislation sur le cheque; mais il est un fait certain, c'est qu'en proposant un
I^ojet de legislation sur la lettre de change, la conference de La Haye a bien indique ce qu'etait
une lettre de change. Elle a done defini la lettre de change. D'ailleuis, toutea lea juriafHa-
dences, toutes noe loia donneat bien une definition de la lettre de change. Eh bieni je m'^tends:
dans le r^>port trds remarquable preseute par M. Otto Trundler, il fait abaolument abandon
de cette necessity, pour nous primordiale, d'une definition du cheque, et nous ne pouvons
entierement partager cet avis, et puisque lee rt^porteuis recommandent mSme de faire men-
tion, dans la I^islation & venir, dea conditions principales du cheque, il nous paralt evidmt
que I'une de ees conditions est prtcdsement, au point de vue international et interieur, que k
cheque ne puisse etre conTondu avec un autre inatnunent de crtdit soumis k des stipulations
legales diSeientes de cellea du cheque. Sinon, il est probable que dans la pratique il pourra
ee presenter et il se presentera certainement des inconvenients et dee conflite entre la legislv
tion regisBant le cheque et celle concemant les autree instnunentA de credit.
En effet, ai le cheque doit — et c'est 1& I'esprit qui a preside au denr general d'une l^is-
lation intemationale sur la matidre, — constituer un substitut au numeraire et auz billets de
banque, il faut qu'il joukse autont que possible des conditions qui donnmt k oeux-ci la tadlite
de circulation et de liberation pour lea poiements auxquels on veut que le cheque puive ser-
vir lui-meme.
Dans la revue que font les r^iportenrs dea d^nitions du cheque que donne U legislation
de divers pays, ils ne nq>pellent que d'une fo^n generate la definition des pays de langue
ftancaise. Cependant, parm ceus-ci, 11 est intereesant de relever la definition betge, qui cet
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 211
prfcise, et que les nfipoittiaa <m% d'ailleun signaKe. Cette d^finitioii, d'(^)rte nous, eet ab-
Botument Timage de oe qu'est le cheque. La loi beige de 1875 dit: "Le eh^ue eet une d£16-
gfttion de paieroent au oomptant et i. vue mir des fonde dtaponiblee." Voub voyei comine le
dOtfot ae dMHaimt de la lettre de ohange. Eh bienl dans ces conditiouB-U, je croia que, dans
le voea que nous devons Anettre, noua der^Kifl demander, nous devona d^finir ezaoteme&t ce
que noufl Tonlona, et cette definition, nous ta donnons par la loi beige.
&, dans lea diff^rente pays id r c p riocn tfa, il 7 a une definition meilleure, measieuis, noua
■""j™™ tous prtts & noua y lallier. Mais, ne rien dire du tout, laiaaer cette definition dans
I'ombre, eh bienl mesmeuiB, ce n'eet pas dire ce que nous voulona.
Maintenant, messkeura, aur lee autrea points de vue, du report de M. Apt: un de mee
ccanpatriotee, M. Chhstopbe, et moi, nous aunmee abeohiment d'acooid, et je ne voudrais
pas retcnir phis kmgtempe le tou indiquant tea diff6rentea nuanoee que nous pounions eto-
blir. Je oe veux pas abuser de roe inatanta, je tnuve qu'avaot tout, noua devona dire oe que
noua Touk«a, et pour le aurptna, lea detaila aont indiqute d'une taQon complete, d'une fagon
magiatrale dans lea diSeienta rq>poTta dont noua arons eu connaiaaanoe. Cee rapports, je ne
lee ana^se pas, mais je tous demande eurtout que, dans le Toeu que voua ollea emettre, que
Tous allei envoyer k la oonffrraice de La Haye, voue diaiei bien ce que tous voulei, et c'eet
la deciskm que je Tous demande d'adopter.
(TVoRtlatwn)
Oenttemen:
In a report presmted in the name of the Belgian Chamber of Commerce of Faria
my eminent colleague, Mr. H. A. Rau, has pointed out the practical means for extending
the emplcTment (rf dwcka and for reducing the incraiTeniencea and risks resulting from
the extended use of cash and bank notes. Even thou^ it may not be our part to draft
a law relating to checks, it is clear that we should at this time express our opinion aa
te the best legislation. We are in exactly the position to pennit us to state in a thorough
manner what we deeire and what ta required by the world's ccmmerce through the
establishment of the check.
The Hague Conference, aa you have just learned, has occupied itaelf with the sub*
ject of uniform l^ielatitHi relative to drafts for all countries. I believe it has also taken
up the question of international legislation relative ta checks, one of the greatest desiree
ct the world's oommeice; but I do not know whether the conference at The Hague has
adopted few checks the same rules which it has made for bills of exchange.
We are therefore in entire ignorance on this subject. If I am correctly informed, it
appMiB that The Hague Conference has postponed ta a future session the inveettgation
of le^slaticn regarding checks but one point ia certain, — that in drawing u|^ a law
for bills of exchange The Hague Confwence has defined what a bill of exchange is. More-
over, all our jurisprudence, all our laws give a definition of a bill of exchange. In the
very valuable report presented by Mr. Otto Tnmdler he absolutely abandons this re.-
quirement which seems to us fundamental for a definition of the check. We oannot
entirely share his opinion and eren the Reporters themselves recommend that future
legislation should mention the principal conditions for the check. It appears to ua
clear that one of theoe conditions, both in regard to international and domestic relations,
is that the check should not be confounded with some other instrument of credit, sub-
jeot to different l^al stipulations than those for the check. Otherwise it is probable
that in practice there might be, and certainly would be, inconvenienceB and conflicts be-
tween the l^ialation relating to the check and that regulating other instruments of credit.
In fact, if the check — and this is the idea which has inspired the general desire
f<H- international legislation on tbe subject — is to constitute a substitute for cash and
bank notes, it must as far as possible answer to the conditions which give these latter
their facility for circulation for tbe purpose of payments for which it is desired to employ
the check.
Digitized byGoOgIC
2 INTERNATIONAL C0NGEBS8 OF
In the summing up made by the Reportera of the definitknu of the check gim
by legislation in different oouDtries they only mention in a general way the driiniticn
in the French-epe^ing coimtrieB. Among these, however, it is intereeting to take iqi
the Belgian definition, which ia, moreover, exactly what the Reportera have described.
This definition, it seenu to lu, is an accurate deecription of a check and of the powen
to be given to it. The Belgian law of 1873 says: "The check is an order to pey in
cash and at sight on funds disposable." You see, tlierefore, how the check distin-
guishes itself from the bill of exchange. Well, under tlieee conditions I beliere that in
the resolve which we may adopt, we should ask, we should define exactly what we wish,
and this definition we find in the Belgian law.
If, gentlemen, there is among the different countries here represented a better
definition, we are prepared to support it. But to say nothing at all, to leave this defi-
nition in the dark, does not seem to be saying what we want.
Now, gentlemen, on the other points of the report made by Mr. Apt: one of my
compatriots, Mr. Christophe, does not entirely agree with us and I do not wish to delay
the vote further by pointing out the different modifications which we mig^t make. I
do not wish to abuse your time. I think, Uiou^, that above all we should say what
we want, and for the rest, the details are expressed in a very complete and masteriy
fashion in the different reports which we have heard. I will not analyse these reports
but will ask again that in the resolve which you are about to adopt, which you will aend
to the conference at The Hague, you state clearly what you want, and this is the decisiao
which I ask you to reach.
H. 1« Prfeldaot: La parole est & M. Chables Chhisiophi.
M. Charies Christophe, Secretam 0/ tht " Cerde Commercial et Indiitlritl " of Ghent; S«o-
retary of the Iniemalionat Federation qf FtaxSpirmert' Attodaiiont
Messieurs:
Le Cercle Commercial et Industriel de Gand a fait coimaltre toutes ses vuea au soj^ de
la question du cheque en distribuant aux membres du Congrte un projet complet d'uoe kn
uniforme sur le cbdque, 61abor^, au nom de sa section juridique, par M. Rolin, profeaseor k
I'Univenit^ de Gand et secretaire de I'lnstitut de droit international. H eq>lre que cette
contribution au travail de documentation entrepris sur I'initiative de notre comit£ perma-
nent, m£ritera I'attentitm de la conference de La Haye chargfe d'Atablir le projet d^fimtif
d'une loi uniforme sur lee cheques.
Au nom du groupe que je repr^sente ici, }e crois toutefoia devoir declarer e:q>tea8toe9it
que je ne puis partager I'avis de MM. lee rapporteurs Apt et Trumpler et du "Deutscheo
Handelstag," affirmant I'inutiUt^ d'une definition du cheque. A present qu'une loi uniforme
sur ta lettre de change va 6tre mise en vigueur dans la plupart dee pays, il convient de mai^
quer nett«ment et succinctement, dans la loi uniforme projetfc, en quoi le cheque diffire de
la lettre de change. II importe avant tout d'6viter que les ch^ues ne Be transforment oi
lettres de change marquees et ne peident leur caractdre easentiel, qui sera toujoun d'etre on
mode de paiement.
Je me rallie done aux observations pr^aent^ par M. Rau comme compliment de son
ruoarquable rapport, au sujet de la n6cessite d'tme definition du ch^ue. Au surplus, le
"Deutsche Handelstag" lui-m&ne, aprte avoir affirm^ I'inutiliti d'une definition (declan-
tion No. I) s'attache ensuite & delimiter d'une fsQon tr^ precise lea conditions eseentielles da
dbSque. Sur ces conditions, d'ailleurs, I'accord pourra se faire tr^s facilement.
Que doit 6tre, maintenant, cette definition du ch^ueT C'eat la conference de La Hayt,
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 213
qui a mission de I'dtablir. Je temunerai par une seule renurque k ce sujet. La definition
que propose M. Rau, c'est-Jkndire celle de la loi beige du 20 juin 1873, pi^aente en effet dea
avantagee-
"Le cheque, dit le l^ialateur beige, est une delegation de paiement au comptant et k vue
SOT des fondfl diaponibles." NotoQfl biea que dans sea explications but oe qu'il faut entendre
par foods disponibles lora de remission du cheque, le rapporteur de la loi ft la chambre beige
a £t£ extremement large: il y a, & son sens, des fonds disponiblee cliei le tiie dee que cehti-ci,
eans etie d&iteur du tiieur, t'a autorise & disposer de certains fonds chea lui. Cela devrait
^videmment suffire, mab il est bon de le dire clairement.
II semble, dee lore, possible de concilier facilement la notion beige du cheque aveo la
notion anglaise, r^sultat qu'il faut ohercher & atteindre, puisque cette demiere notion est, au
point de viie mondial, la plus rSpandue.
Pour ne paa parier cfinune I'a fait tout iL I'heure le dei^ue du Bresil, je tiens & diie que
la Belgique, tout en etant un petit pays, tient beaucoup & (aire entendre ea voiz dans toutee
lea questions, aussi bien econraniques que l^islatives.
(Tratuiation)
Gentlemen:
The "Cerde Commercial et Industriel" of Ghent hae expressed all ite views on the
question of eheclcs by tiTiHing to each member of the Congreea a complete scheme of a
uniform law of checks, framed on behalf of its juridical section, by Mr. Rolin, professor
in the University of Ghent and secretary of the International Law Institute. It hopes
that this contribution to the woric of documentation undertaken on the initiative of our
PennaneDt Committee will be worthy of receiving attention from The Hague Conference,
trusted with the elaboration of a definitive scheme of a uniform law of checks.
In the name of the group of which I am here the representative, I, however, believe
it my duty to declare expressly that I cannot be of the same opinitm as the Committee
Reportera, Messrs. Apt and Trumpler, and as "Der Deutsche Handektag," who assert
the useleesnesB of a definition of the check. Now that a imiform law relating to the bill
of exchange is to be enforced in the majority of countries, it is convenient to determine
clearly aod concisely, ia the uniform law which is to be planned, in what re^wct the check
differs from the bill of exchange. It is first of all neceesaiy to avoid having checks trans-
formed into disguised bills of exchange, and so losing their essential character, that of
being a mode of payment.
llierefore, I join with the observations presented by Mr. Rau as a complement
to his remarkable report, about the necessity of a definition of the check. Beeidee,
"Der Deutsche Handelstag" itself, after having stated the useleesnees of a defini-
tion (Declaration No. I) proceeds to undertake to limit the essential conditions of the
check. Moreover, on these conditions, the agreement may be concluded very easily.
What must, then, be this definition of the check? It is the Conference of The
Hague which has been entrusted to fix it. I am going to conclude with one single re-
mark on this subject. The definition which Mr. Rau propoeee, that is to say, the
definition given by the Belgian law of June 20, 1873, has indeed some advantages.
"The check," says the Belgian legislator, "is a delegation of payment, incaahandat
mght, on available funds." We must not fail to note that, in his explanation of what
we must understand by available funds at the time the check is issued, the reporter of
the law in the Belgian Parliament has been very liberal; according to him, there are
available funds at the drawee's as soon as the latter, without being a debtor of the
drawer, has allowed him to draw upon him for certain funds. This, evidently, ought to
be sufficient, but it is convenient to point it out clearly.
It seems, thm, possible to make agree the Belgian notitm of die check with the Eng-
lish one, a result that we must strive to attain, as the '•^el'''h notion is most widely put in
practioe.
Digitized byGoOgIC
214 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Althoo^, I do not vish to speak aa the delegate from Branl has jtut done, I inriet
that Belgium, although a small country, thinks a great deal of participating in all quea-
tions, both economic and legislative.
H. Ifl ftosident: Monsieur Christophe, vos observations ont port^ surtout but la d&
nition. C'eet un dea details. !E:videmment, si nous entrons dans la discussion des details,
quand none aurons parl€ de la definition du ch^ue, nous parlerons du tireur. Tout de mtete
je partage vos observations, mais je pense que vous ne devec pas entrer dans cette voie. it
demands au Congrto de prendre une decision que nous sommee ici simplement pour vot«r sur
le point de savoir s'il est desirable d'avoir I'unification du cheque. II est Evident qn'on tiendn
bon oompte de vos observations dans lee procde-veitiaux, mais je pense que je ne puis pas
demander au Congrfs de voter sur une question de details. Nous serions ^isolument d^
boidis et perdus.
La parole est & M. F. FAiTHrcu. Bsaa.
(TTonilaliort)
Mr. Christophe, your remadcs have all referred to the definitions. ITub is one
of the details. Cleariy, if we enter into the discussion of details, after we have talked
over the definition of the check, we should also discuss the drawer. At the same time I
appreciate your remarks, but I Uiink that it would be better not to enter on this tncfc.
I will ask the Congress to adopt the decision that we are here solely to vot« on tliia
point: Is it desirable to have the unification of the check? It is of course understood
that due record will be made of your remarics in the proceedings, but I do not think that
I can aek the Congress to vote on a question of details. We should be absolutely over-
whelmed and lost.
Mr. F. FAiTHyuLL Beog has the floor.
Mr. F. Faithful! B%g, Chairman of the Council of the London Chamber of Commerce
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
I agree very largely with the speaker who has just addressed you. The point of his re-
marks, if I got it, was this, that when you come to the question of dealing with checks 30a
must not import into the character of the check any of the complicated matters which pa-
tain to a bill of e:(change, but that you must keep in view the fact that your check must be
the simplest, the most n^otiable, the most ea^y handled and dealt-with document that
you can possibly devise. ("Hear, hear!" and aypUmte.) You must simplify, and you must
not complicate.
In England — and in London particularly, where I come from — we have aocae expoi-
ence in the use of checks. (Laughter.) If I were to give you the figures — which I cannot,
because I do not remember them — of the number and amount of checks which pass throu^
the London clearing house in one day, some of you, at all events, would be astoniahed. I go
so far as to say that if you attempt to introduce into the question of checks the ounplica-
tions which are suggested or laid down in this paper, you will nullify your efforts and you
will make no pn^ress. ("Hear, heart" and apjAaute.) I say to you deliberately that if our
system of checks in London were to be subjected to the conditions that are laid down in this
Bumm&iy, the business of London would stop {"right"), and we could not make any prog-
ress with our work.
Therefore, I am son; to say that there are points, several points, to which my Chamber,
the London Chamber, cannot under any circumstances agree. We must be understood u
dissenting, and, if you will allow me, I will in the briefest manner refer to these points.
The fiifit point on which I would say a word is point No. II in the document which has
been circulated this morning. It says that the check should only be drawn on a banker.
Now I will put a conundrum to you. What is a banker? We have endeavored to defne
.Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 215
" banker" in England, and we have failed. We have suggested legislation on the subject,
and it has been impossible, because we cannot define "banker," and if you cannot define
"banker" in England, let me ask you how you are going to define "banker" on the Conti-
nent, or how you are going to define "banker" in the United States, where so many gentle-
men of honorable disposition cany on the business of so-called banking, — and it is banking
of s sort, but it is not banking in any strict sense that could be laid down in an act of parlia-
ment regulating this matter.
The second point to which I wish to refer is in No. Ill, referring to optional particulars
which mi^t be put in a check. I am afraid that that might mean that these particulars
would be insisted upon, and the first statement I notice here is "Statranent of the funds
stftnding to the credit of drawer." {Laughter.) Now, gentlemen, from my point of view that
is absolutely impossible. ("Hear, hear!" and a voice, "We viovld like to know U!" followed by
laughter.) I may not even know it myself, as I am going to explain to you in a moment.
{hau^hler.) It was suggested by the last speaker that if he had an authority upon his banker
to draw that might be a sufficient provision to fulfil the condition.
Let me tell you in a sentence what my own practice is. I am a member of the London
stock exchange. We have fortnightly settlonents — what you call on the Continent "Uqui-
dations." On the day of the session we have all the transactions of the fortnight to carry
throi^. What do we doT My cashier sends the documents that have been presented, have
been examined and are in order, takes the certification of tiie clerk, and draws a check. He
brings the checks all day, and, Mr. President, the last thing I think of is, how much money
I have got in the bank. {Laughter.) I do not begin to think of that until three or half past
three o'clock. Then they bring me a statement showing how much is wanted. If we are
short, we go to the bank and borrow the money ; if we are over — which frequently happens,
you know (loujAter), — we go home to dinner h^>py. {Laughier.)
That is the universal practice in London, and not only is it the practice but it is a law
of the stock exchange in London that a broker must issue a check, even if he does not think
he is able to pay it, or may not be able to pay it. He must give a check, because the man
presenting must have his document. If at the end of the day he fails, that cannot be helped,
but it is hie duty to issue the check in order that the transaction may be cairied through.
Therefore, I say, any statement of the funds standing to the credit of the drawer b im-
possible. I couldn't tell how much I had, and wouldn't wish to know how much I had, to my
credit at any particular moment.
In regard to point No. VII, as to the time allowed for presentation, I will stale the
situation on that matter with us, as a matter of practice. The time has been reduced in
practice to three months, but I think it would be a wrong thing to lay down any fixed or
hard and fast rule in regard to that.
Point No. VIII; It is suggested there that the drawee require a receipt. "As to pay-
ment, it will be necessary to stipulate that the drawee can require a receipt." That means a
duplicating or doubling, if insisted on, of the number of documents to be handled, because
each check has to be accompanied by a receipt. I do not quite see how it is to be woriced
out. It comes under my heading of complications. You are going to double the number of
documents and going to introduce congestion, when you ought to have simpUcity.
Point No. IX: "The countermanding of a check should not be permitted until after the
time allowed for presentation has elapsed." I see that by the German law that Is a matter
of ten days. That again, gentlemen, is impracticable. The drawer of a check may find within
five minutes after having issued it that he has been swindled. {"Hear, hear!") In practice
with us I am at liberty to send over to my banker and stop payment on the instant I discover
that I have been taken in. {"Hear, hear!") Here again you must not introduce complexity;
you must introduce simplicity into your practice.
I have a practical suggestion to conclude with, and the practical suggestion, sir, is this:
tliat a small committee representing this Congress should be appointed to come over to Lon-
don and spend a few weeks examining our clearing-house system and our manner of handling
Digitized byGoOgIC
216 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
checks. We will be ver^r polite with th&t conunittee; we win undertake to look after than
while in London and gire them all the inf otmation in our power, and I am sure they will
agree with me after they have had that infonnation th^t these complications are impoanble,
and that if jou attempt to introduce the comphcationa to which I have rdenvd 700 will
ettdtify your proceedinga and negative your action. (JppIouM.)
M. le President: H est intSressant d'avoir lea ^changes de vuee. H est dvidcmt qoe
M. Apt a une opinion; M. Chrietophe nous en a donn^ une autre; M. Begg vient de nous oi
donoer une autre encore. Maintenant, measieiirB, pas de details. Je penee que tout le moode
e«t d'acoord pour dire qu'il est desirable d'avoir I'tmification du cheque de tous lee pays; ^eei
en Bomme la seule chose qu'on demande au Congr^
La parole eat & M. Max Richter.
(Trandation)
It ia interesting to have eichangea of views. It is evident that Mr. Apt has wr
opinion; Mr. GhriBt<^he has given ua another; Mr. Begg has just given us still another.
Now, geittlemen, no details. I think that everybody is agreed that it is desirable to
have a unification of the check in all countriea; that is, after all, the only Hung that
is asked of the Congresa.
Mr. Max Ricbteb has the floor.
Herr Hax Richter, Member of "Die AUetlen dtr Kavfmamtteha/t am Berlin"
Nach den Eikl&rungen dea Herm PrfisideDten kfinnte ich eigentUch auf das Wort ver-
liehten. Wir haben geaehen, dafi bei der Beratung der Elinzelheiten durchweg verachiedoke
Meinudgen auftreten. Das haben wir achon geaehen bei der Nr. I, worin geaagt tst, dall
davon abgesehen werden soil, eine Definition dea Schecks su geben. Dieaer Vorachlag stdit
mm Beispiel dem deutachen Scheckrechte direkt entg^en, welchee mit dem belgischen Scheck-
rechte Qbereinstimmt, und das belgiache Scheckrecht hat sweifelloa eine voraQgUche Erklfirung
darflber, was ein Scheck darsteUen aoll. In gleicher Weise ist das deutache Recht bisher aus-
gefOhrt gewesen.
Meine Heiren, in England und bei den engliach-flprechenden Nationen, wie in Amerika,
existiert keine Erkl&nmg darliber, was ein Scheck darsteUen soil. Dieses betreffoid, hat
man naturgem&B, namentlich mit RUckaicht darauf, daQ man in England, London, einige
Erfabrungen im Scheckvericehr hat — wie Berr B^g soeben sagU — darauf versichtot, eine
Deklaration des Schecks «a geben.
So geht die Sache welter, und wenn wir joden einielnen der Punkfe durchberat«n mOssen,
■0 mdssen wir unseren KongreB verlangem, Deshalb trete ich der Anaieht unseres Hon
PrAaidenten bei und meine, daQ wir una darauf beachranken, hier einfach zu erid&ren als ein-
atimmige Meinung aller hier vertretenen Nationen, daQ veraucht wenlen soli, ein einheitlichea
Scheckrecht tiir den Welthandel la achaffen.
(Tranilation)
After the explanations of the Preeident it may be scarcely necessary for me to take
the floor. We have seen during the consideratk>n of details that many different opiniotis
are represented. This was already noted in the diacuasion of item I which states that
no attempt should be made to give a definition of the check. This propoaal is fcv in-
stance directly opposed to the German check law, which agrees with the Belgian ched
law, so that tlie Belgian check law doubtless ctmtams an express deolaiation as to what
shall ctMistitute a check. The German law has been hitherto enforced in tlua manner.
In England and among the English-q>eaking oationa, as the United States, that i»
no r^ulatitm as to the form of the check. In regard to this, it waa natural enough, —
in view of the experience in Ein^and, London, aa Mr. Begg haa just said, — that thej
T^rained from giving a definition of the check.
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 217
And BO it goes, and if we must debate each individual point we should be obliged to
prolong our Congresa. For this reason I agree with the view of our President and am
of the opinion that we should limit ourselves to simply stating as the unanimous opinion
of all nations represeutod here that an attempt should be made to create a. uniform check
law for international b
Dr. Soetbeer {Berlin): Ich mAchte nur ein MiGverstindnis aufklSren gegenQbet dem
verehrten Herm aus London, das sich auf Numraer III bezieht, wo es heiSt: "The check
might also contain optional particulars such as: Statement of the funds standing to the credit
of drawer." Der Herr hat es so verstanden, dall dort die Summe des Guthabens stehen soUte.
Das ist nicht die Meinung. Wenn das die Meinimg w&re, wOrde ich es ebenso komisch und
Ificheilioh finden, wie die Herren aus England. Die Meinung des deutechen Vorschlags ist
lediglich die, daQ es nicht nOtig, aber augelaaeen sei, in dem Scheok zu sagen: Zahlen Sie auf
mein Quthaben. Das ist die ganse Bedeutung dieser Bache, nicht der Betrag des Guthabens.
(XrantlaHon)
1 wish to clear away a misunderstanding on the part of the gentleman from London
in r^ard to item III, which reads: "The check might also contain optional particulars
such as: Statement of the fund standing to the credit of drawer." The gentleman has
understood that this was intended to mean the indication of the amount of the funds.
This is not the meaning. Were this the intention I should myself consider it as comical
and absurd as do the gentlemen from England. The intention of the Germsji proposal
is simply that it is not essential, but is permissible to state on the check: Pay from my
funds. This is the whole intention of this clause, and it does not refer to the amount of
the balance.
(Dr. Soefbeer continued in English as foUoica:)
I ahall endeavor to say in English for the gentlemen who do not understand German,
that the sense of No. Ill, which was questioned by the honorable gentleman from London, #as
not that the "statement of funds standing to the credit of the drawer" should give the amount
of the funds, but only that fiuds or money are to the credit of the man who draws the check.
Hr. Begg: Am 1 entitled to explain, sir? What I mean is this — that there should be
no stipulation that there should be funds; ^lat I should be entitled to draw at my own risk,
whether 1 have funds or not.
Dr. Soetbeer: Yes, sir, I should say it should be an optional particular.
The President; Optional.
Dr. Soetbeer: If a man is of youj opinion he may get oau^t.
Hr. Begg: All ri^t.
M. le Prfeldait: Ces questions sont done des questions de detail. Nous restons devant
le piincipe de I'unifica'tion du cheque.
Toutes lea c^Mervations qui ont Hi pr£sent^es sont int^ressantes les unee et les autree, et
nous en airivona done & cette conclusion que nous devons nous prononcer sur le fait de savoir
a'il est desirable de voir 6tablir I'unification de la loi sur le cheque.
M. Aft a demand^ la parole pour quelques demiers mots.
(XranOaHm)
These questions are, after all, questions of detail. The question which we have before
OS is the principle of the unification of the check. All the observations which have been
presented are interesting, and we come now to the oonchision that we ou^t to pass
upon the question whether it b desirable to establish the unification of the law of cheeks.
Mr. Apt has asked the floor for a few elosiDg words.
,yGoog[c
218 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Dr. Mu Apt (Berlin)
Ich mfichte noch einmat sum Ausdruck bringen, waa bereita in dem Bericht gescbehen ist,
6a& die Leits&tze des Handetatitge Dmen nicbt vorgelegt norden sind, damit Sie me hier in
den Eimelbeiten annehmen, sondem lediglicb als ein Ausdiuck derjenigen Ansicbten, die man
in DeutachUnd Qber diese Frage bat. E^ ist ganz Belbstverstindlicb und war aucb Toraosge-
Mhen worden, daQ man in anderen Landem eine verachiedene Auffaaaimg hat, und es wai
aufierordeDtlich wertvoll, diese verachiedenen Auffaaeimgen bier lu hdren, imd icb bin ilbtf-
MUgt, daC wenn die diplomatiBche Sta&ten-Konfereni demn&cbst oder im nficbsten Jabie
nuammengerufen witd, um dieee Scheckfrage zu Ende zu fubren, daS dann die Bedenkes,
die bier in Bezug auf die Einzelbeiten gefiuQert worden sind, ihre Beritcksicbtigung Gnden wei>
den. Auch ist ea, wie dae bei dem Weltwecbsebecht geacheben iat, bei alien dieeen Fragra ao,
daQ, um die Einbeitlicbkeit eines derartigen Geeetzea durcbiufflbren, bei den einielnen Punkloi
Voibehalte fOr die einzehiea R^ienmgen gemacht werden, damit die E^inielre^erungen in
der Lage aind, trotz der Vereinbeitlicbung dee ganzen Geeetzes ibie Recbtsauffaasung durdi-
sufikbren. Infolgedessen bitte icb Sie, Qber dieaer Erdrterung der Einzelheiten den H&uptge-
dchtspunkt nicht aus dem Auge zu laaaen, der dahin geht, daU dieae VereinbeitUohung der
Sdiecktecbte nicbt nut wQnscbenawert, aondem bei gutem Willen durchfObrbar iat. Infolge-
deaaen werde icb micb beachr&nken, ledigUcb unter Nr. I den S&ti lur Abetimmung biisgoi
ni laseen, dafl die Vereinbeitlichung der Scbeckrechte nicht nur wUnacbenswert, sondeni audi
durcbf<lbibar ist. Dagegen mOcbte ich Sie bitten, auBerdem nocb der Idee Ihre Sjmpatbie
sum Auadruck zu bringen, daG ein Weltgerichtsbof geschaffen werden kann for die Ausle-
gung der Fragen dee Weltscbeckrechts und Weltwechselrecbts in letzter Inatans.
(Trarulatiojt)
I wish to empbaaiBe once more tiiat which baa aheady been laid stfeee upon in Ibe
report, — that ia to say, that tite fundamental propoaitiona of the "Haikdeliitag" have not
. been submitted to you in order that you should accept them here in all their details,
but merely as an expression of tboee views which are entertained in Germany conoem-
ing this question. It is quite self-evident and baa been foreeeen, that in other eoua-
tries a conviction of a different character would exist, and it was extremely valuable to
hear those various oouvictiona; and I feel convinced that when the diplomatic confee
ence of the States will be called together soon, perbapa in the coming year, in order to
bring to a successful end the question of checks, that then the doubt which has been
expressed here as regards these various details will be takui into proper consideratioo.
Moreover, all tins has also been done in the case of the international law on bills of
exchange. It is to be expected that, in canying to a suoceesful end a unifoim law, the
various governments may make certain reservations as r^;ards single points in order that
the individual governments may be in a position to carry out their idea as to interpreta-
tion or judicial principle in spite of the unification of the entire law. In consequence
thereof I would request you that when diacuaaing the details you do not lose s^t of
the principal point, and that point ia that this unification of the check law ia not wily
highly desirable but can be carried out provided there is a desire to do so. In conse-
quence thereof I shall confine myself under No. I, solely to the resolution that the uni-
fication of the check law is not only desirable but is also a thing that can be actually
carried into effect. On the other hand, I would request that besides that you also
express your sympathy with the idea that there can be created an international court
for the interpt^^Ation of questions of the univeraal check law and the universal law of
bills of exchange as the court of last resort.
M. le Prfisideat: II y a done deux points sur leequels je dteire consulter I'aesemblte.
Le premier point eat celui-ci, sur lequel tout le monde semble d'accord: I'unification de la kii
sur le ch^ue est d&iirable. Je vous ccosulte. Ceux qui aont d'avia d'adopter eette motioo
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 219
telle que prSsenUe, level la nuun. {Levie de mairt* ginirale.) L'£pieuve C(mtr&iie. (,Penonrte
ne Use la main.) II n'y a paa d'opposition.
(Translation)
There are two pointo upon which I desire to consult the meeting. The first point is
this, upon which every one seems to be agreed, that the unification of legislation relative
to cheeks is dedrsble. I put the motion. Those in favor of adopting the motion as
made, win please raise their hands. (Oeneral raiting of hatuU.) Contrat; minded? (No
handa raited.) There is no opposition.
Un Dilignfi: Seulement, je ne suis pss sOr que tout le monde ait compris
(TrarulaHcn)
A Dblxoatb: I am not quite sure that every one undeistood what you said.
Hr. Otto Mflncterborg (Dangig, Germany): I am not quite sure, goitl^mai, if you
hftve all understood what Mr. President said. ("No.") That is what I thought. The Presi-
dent said that we shall be unanimous, very likely, upon the first motion which has been laid
before you — that we are all unanimous on the resolution that it is desirable to have a unity
of the law of checks for the whole world. I believe we are absolutely unanimous. That ia
■U I wished to ezphun.
Hr. R. H. Ciinj (Nataau, Bohamat): Mr. PKsident, do I understand that the remai^
made by the gentleman representing the London Chamber of Commerce go for nothing?
How will he have the li^t to make an amendmrat after we agree to thist
Hr. Begg; We do not agree.
M. 1» PrCddeot: Nous n'avona pas i. entrer dans les details; c'est la question g^n&sle.
Les Allemands ont une fa^on de comprendre les choses, les An^iau en out une autre, mais
aiMlesEus de tout cela, je puis vous demander: £tes-vouB d'avis qu'il est desirable d'avoir
t'unification d'une loi sur les chAquesT C'est la question de princlpe, n'est-ce pas?
(TraniUAion)
We have not got to enter into details; it is the general question. The Germajui
have one way tA understanding things, the Englishmen have another, but above all that
I could ask you, are you of the opinion that a law on the unification of checks is desir*
able7 Hiat is the question of principle, is it not?
Pln^enrs Volz; Oui, oui, oui.
(Tran^oiion)
Several Voices: Yes, yes, yea.
U. B^g: Le principe gSn^ral, mais pas de details.
(Tranaation)
The general principle, but no details.
H. le President: Sommes-nous d'accord? H n'y a pas de malentendu?
(Trantiation)
Are we agreed? Is there no misunderstanding?
(TVansloMon)
SavKRAL Voices : Yes, yes.
Digitized byGoOgIC
220 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
M. le Prtaldant: L'^preuve contnire. {Persorme ne line la main.) Adopts k I'unaiumiU.
Maintenant, il y a im second point propose par M. Apt.
(Tranelation)
Those opposedT {No handi are raised.) Adopted unanimouBly.
Now, there ia a second point offered by Mr. Apt.
(Reading in Bnglitik)
"A necessary complement to the creation of a univeisal law on bills of exchange and
checks is the creation of a hi g>i court at The Hague which will decide as a court of last nmttl
eontroveteiee regarding questions involving the universal law of bills of exchange and ctMcks."
This is another proposition.
Hr. HfinBterberg; Well, Gentlemen, the second propodtton has been read in Bn^iali,
French and German. To prevent misunderstanding, I will read in English what has bea
proposed in the report of Mr. Apt:
"I have explained that the differences in the laws of the check are not so great that it
will be impossible to realize the unification. And I hope that even if jrou are not oil in perfect
acreement with me, at least I hope you will be in svmpathv with the unification of the law of the
tmeck. But it is not sufficient that the lawa of tlie check and exchange are unified, it is still
more necessary that a high court may be established for Ute interpretation of the queetkma
concerning Ute unified laws of the check and exchange."
That has reference to the present court, the tribunal at The Hague, and the Reporter,
Mr. Apt, wishes that the Congress expieaa its consult that the same tdbimal, the court of
arbitration, should be as well for checks as for letters of exchange, dnfta, liquidationB. That
is what is proposed now.
H. le Pr6sidMit: La proposition de M. Apt en second lieu, je vais la mettre en franfais:
"II y aurait un tribunal qui seroit en quelque sorte une cour d'appel pour les procds relatifa
& la fois aui lettres de change et aux cheques." Voilft I'idSe de M. Apt. Tout le monde a
done bien compris. Que ceux qui sont d'avis d'adopter ce vceu — c'est un vceu — veuleot bies
lever la main. {Leoie de maint det diUguit.) L'^preuve contraire. (Levte de mam* d» cer-
tain* diliffui*.)
{Tranalaiion)
1 will put into French Mr. Apt's second proposition: "That there should be a trifati-
nal which would be in a way a court of fq>peala for suits concerning at the same time
bills of exchange and checks." That is Mr. Apt's idea. It is well understood by aU.
Those who favor the wish, for it is a wish, please raise their hand, (Raising tf Kaitd*
<^ Ihi deUgate*.) Those opposed please raise the hand. (Raiting iff hand* of tome dtb-
gate*.)
Ht. Hfinsterberg: Gentlemen, I believe there is again a misunderatandiDg. I do not
tiiink we ought to vote for such a question simply by a majority. I see that our Kngliah taeoAa,
for instance, unanimously are against this point, and to my mind it would be useless to adc^
such a resolution here if such a powerful body of men of business as those of England, tite whole
British Empire, were against it. So I think it would better not to take a vote at all on tlte
second point. ("Hear, hear!" and applaute.) We have expressed ourselvee, and we have
talked about the matter, and now I think we ought to leave it alone and say we aie satisfied to
have the first point arranged — that is, unanimously adopted, — and leave the second point
for the future, and hope that what we have said ounelvee here between each other will totd
to the general adoption of such a tribunal, the Court of Arbitration at The Hague, or what-
ever it may be.
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 221
Dr. So«tbe«r (Berlin): Ich mOchte noch eimnal daa Wort ergreifen, um ni erid&ren,
deJi aucb unter den deutschen Delegierten die Meinuugen Ober diesen Punkt auseinuulergehen,
den Punkt, der bei une nicht studiert worden iat und darauf hinauslfiuft, daS wir einen Teil
der Bechtsfrage, eine AbEweigung einee Teik der Rechtaeprechui^ an einen intemationalen
Gerichtshof Btattfiaden IttBBen. Ich wtlrde es aueh fOr wUnschenswert balt«n, wenn dieser
AntrsK lurQckgezogen wOrde, und man sich auf die Abatimmung bescbrankte, die wir 80-
eben vorgenommen haben.
(Tramlaium)
I would like to make a further statement, which ia, that opinions differ also among
the Gennan delegates on this point, which has not been studied by us, and the effect of
which is to transfer to an international court a part of the l^al proceedings, or, as it
were, a branch of the judicature. I would also consider it desirable that this motion
should be withdrawn and that the Congress should confine itself to the vote which has
just been taken.
Hr. Thomas (Parig): I wish to submit that the vote had already been taken before the
last speaker addressed the meeting. I also want to say that the American del^ates — at
least the American delegates from Paris — identify themselves unreservedly with what
Mr. Faithful! Begg has said, and with the voice of the British delegates.
Dr. Apt iBerlin): FOr die deutschen Delegiert«n m6chte ich nur eins sagen: die Idee,
daS, wenn ein Weltwechselrecht gemacht wird, dann auch ein Gerichtshof eingerichtet wird,
der in letster Instans da ist, um Streitfragen Ober dieses Weltwechsel- und Weltscheckrecbt
m entscheiden, dieser Gedanke iat von der deutschen Delegation aus der Uaager Weltwech-
Belrecht--Konferem! angeregt worden, und die Haager Weltwecbselrecht-Konfereni hat ein-
etimmig beschlossen, daQ dieae Frage von den einzelnen Repermigen geprUft werden soil.
Was ich will, ist nichts welter als daB dieser KongreQ allgemein seine Sympathie fUr die Ein-
tichtung eines derartigen Gerichtshofes ausspreche, fOr den Fall, daQ eine Vereinheitlichung
dea Weltwechsel- und Scheckrechts gemacht wird, und ich glaube, der Handelsatand hat ja
gar keinen Grund, gegen einen derartigen Gerichtshof einiutreten, der nur die Garantie bieten
aoll fOr die richtige DurchfUhrung des Weltwechsel- und Scheckrechts.
(Trantlation)
On behalf of the Gennan delegates I would only say one thing on the point: that
if a universal law on bills of exchange and a universal check law arc enacted, in tlua case
also a court should be established which would be a court of last appeal to decide con-
troveniee. In connection with this univQtsal law on bills of exchange and universal
l&w on checks is a suggestion which has been made by the German del^^tion at the
international conference on a universal law on hills of exchange, held at The Hague, and
The Hague Conference has unanimously voted that this is a question which should be
examined by the individual governments. What I wish ia notlting more Utan that this
Congress should in general express its sentiment in favor of the institution of such a
court o( appeal in case a uniform international law on checks and bills of exchange
is instituted, and I believe that the merchants at large have no reason whatsoever to
oppose such a court, which would merely furnish a guaranty for the proper carrying
into effect of such a universal law covering bills of exchange and checks.
H. le PrCddent: Je pense que dans oes conditiona-l&, nous pounons laisser la seconde
partie de la question de cflt*, la consid^rer comma document et ne pas provoquor de i£solu<
tion du Congrte & ce aujet. Done, nous nous bomons au premier point. Nous notons les
explications de M. Apt, mais nous ne paeeons pas de resolution. H faut done cimaid^rer cette
queeticKi comme terming.
Digitized byGoOgIC
222 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
(Tmnslofton)
1 believe that imder such conditioDS we can I&7 amde the seoond put of the iaeue,
coDsideriiig it as a document and not aeeking to call forth a leeolution from the Con-
gress. Therefoi«, ve confine ounelves to the fint point, and take note of Mr. API's
explanations, but we pass no resolutions. We consider this question cloeed.
Mr. William R. Tucker (.PkOaddpkia): Mr. President, may I say one wordT
Th« President; Ttie question is cloeed.
Mr. Tncker: I would like to say one word, not to the question, if you will permit me.
The President; One word.
Mr. Tncker; We all acknowledge here that French is the diplomatic language. We
also acknowledge, and must acknowledge, that German and English have become in a large
eenee the language of commerce. Now, I want to suggest, if you will permit me to do so,
that, in the statement of questions upMi which we are to vote, the question should be stated
in the three languages, so that the people who do not understand all of them may be enabled
to vote intelligently. (Applause.) Mr. Filene, if you will permit me to make the suggeetion
— and I know you will not misunderBtand me — if you will state the question to ua in Englirit,
and you, Mr. President, with your excellent French, of course, uid your magcificott German,
there t^an be no misunderstanding.
Mr. Alfred Aslett: May I say one wordT We had the same difBculty two years ago,
when the International Railway Congress was held in Beme. There the translation was in
two languages, French and German. The American representatives — and there wete a
great many there — and the EngliA had a majority of the membere; and the Amerioana felt
BO strongly on tlus question that they came into the hall and said; "Every one of us will
leave, every oike of us, unless there is a translation in English. It is an abeolute scandaL
Many of us do not undetstand French or Oennan. We do not know what we ate talking
about. It is not businesa." And what was the resultT We had a translation in En^ish. It
was abbreviated because of the time, but we had a translation in TTngliah We knew what
we were talking about, we knew what we were doing, and we knew what we were voting
upco). (."Hear, heart")
M. le Prteident; Nous sommes absolument d'acoord et c'eet pr6cis£inent pour cela que
die le d^ut du Congrte i'ai demands k M. Filene de se tenir k cAt6 de moi pour fairs lee tra-
ductions; mais dans tous les cas, au sujet de la question qui vioit de se terminer, il n'y a pas
de malentendu, nous awnmes d'accord but le [oemier point.
(IVansIatMm)
We are entirely agreed, and for this reason I have asked Mr. Filene at the opcsiing
of the Congress to remain by my aide inordertodo the translating; but at any rate on
the questitm which has just been cloeed, there is no misunderstanding; we are agreed
on the first point.
(The Praideni amtinved in Bnglith)
We quite agreed upon the first point, and the second point has been withdrawn —
Voices: Too late, too late.
Dr. Albert C. Bonuchi Ufew York) : That has been voted upon. The Congress has
refused to accept it.
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 223
Hr. Tbomag: I Bubmit that it waa too lat« to withdraw it after Toting.
U. 1« Prfiddent: Oui, c'eat eiit«iidu. Nous eommes done d'accord.
ITrarutatiim)
Y«s, it ia understood. Bo we are agreed.
An English Delegate: Mr. President, it waa not accepted by the Congresa, and it
ehould go on the record aa not accepted.
U. A. Barton Eent (LoTtdra) : Je demande ei c'eat 1& votre d^iaicm finale. Le vote n'eet
pas entcgiatr6 but le procte-verfoal, la proposition est eeulement retirie.
(rrenda/ion)
I ask if that ia your final decisionf The vote ia not r^patered iu the minutes,
but the proposition ia simply withdrawn.
H. le Prtsldent: None avona vot£ but le premier point, eur lequel tout le monde a 6t6
d'accoid.
(Xran^aiicn)
W« have voted on the first point, and everybody ia agreed.
H. Kent; Et nous avona vot^ eur le second point.
{Trantlation)
And we have voted on the second point.
U. I» Prfisident: Pardon, noua n'avons paa votS.
Flveiean Vdz: Oui, oui.
(XrantUUion)
Sevzbal Voicks: Yes, yes.
Hr. Mflnrte rb e i g: We are the second time trying to avoid a misunderstanding. The
honorable gentlonan who has just spoken ia quite right. We tried to vote on the second
point, and when we did so . . .
Voices: We did vote.
Hr. Uflnsterberg: Excuse me; when we did so we noticed that there had been a
Vfdces: No, no.
Hr. HftiBterbefg: I agree perfectly with you that perhaps the proceeding has not
been abeolutely correct. Now I believe we might overlook such mere formalities if the spirit
of the matter has been agreed upon, and I believe that after all these explanations we have
fotmd the way out — how the Confess can give a vote, one vot« upon which we are unani-
moua. The second vote was carried and we saw there had been rnxae misunderstanding, and
the President, after the vote had been taken, withdrew the whole thing, so that we are not
divided upon this question. So perhaps, since the gentlemen, on informal points, are justi-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
224 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
fied in making a certain complaint, I think we had better let the whole matt«r drop. We
have now the dog and the tail, I believe, and I believe we can be perfectljr utiafied that we
have done so much as we have been able to do.
Hr. A. Buton E«nt: Mr. President, I am veiy much obliged for that explanation,
but I would like to disassociate myself from any miBunderstaiiding on the point. I pofectlj
understood the question as it was put, and it waa my impreasKm tiiat most of the delegates
also understood it. Unfortunately, it did not meet with Ute approval of the Reporter and it
was voted against. But if you as President of this Congreae rule that that vote advene ta
the Reporter shall not be taken, bui that ttie proposition ahall be nittidrawn, I am sure all oor
colleagues here will bow to your ruling.
H. le Preddent: Je d^ireroie que nous soyona bien d'accord. Le premier point est
acquis. Four le eecond point, on a commence le vote, il est exact, maia le vote n'a pas M
■ acquis. Quand nous avons vu qu'il y avait de I'oppoeition, j'ai moi-^aSme demands que I'oa
retire la secosde partie, afin que nous soyona toua d'accord et que nous n'ayona paa k votet
les uns contre lea autres.
(Tran«Ia<Mrn)
I would desire that we should property agree. The first point is decided. As for
the second, a vote was started, it is true, but the vote was not comj^ted. When we
saw there was opposition, I peiaonally asked the withdrawal of the second part in oider
to all agree and not vote againat caie another.
Un D61ignfi: Nous eommea ici des d£l^u£s de diven pays pour prooUer il un Miasge
de Tues; il y aura certainement des questions sur lesquelles nous ne serons paa d'accord; eela
e'est produit, et cela ae produira encore. Dana ces conditions, je demande de ne pas pn>-
c^er k un vote et admettre que le Congria n'eat pas d'accord sur un point. Nous aommea
d'accord sur la question de principe.
(TVondotion)
A Dni^EaATE: We are here as delegates of various countries to proceed to an ex-
change of views. There will certainly be issues on which we will not agree; this has taken
place, and will again take place. Under aucb conditions I ask that we do not proceed
to a vote which may make it seem that Congress is not agreed on a point. We are
together on the queation of principle.
U. le Prisldent: C'est la question. II faut done consid^rer que ce point est vidd.
That ia the queation. We must oonsider this point withdrawn.
PlnsletirB Voix: Non, nos, non.
(Tran^aiion)
Setesal Voicbs: No, no, no.
H. le PrtiMdent: Pardonl
A Hember: I want to know whether the negative vote which was taken on the aeeond
point goes on record.
Th« PrMideot: The vote was not taken on the second point. We did not vote any-
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 225
A Uamber: The vote was token, peimit me to uy, in the n^ative.
Tlie Preaident: The result of the vot« vaa not announced.
Ht. Filene: Gentlemen, eveiy one knows that until the result of the vote is announced
by the Chair that vote does not count. Now, gentlemen, the President and all of your officers
want only what you want. If you will make clear what you want, what this body wants,
we are here to do your bidding. The President, you must understand, does not always catch
every word. He speaks all languages, but Bometimee in the heat of a debate like this he too
misunderstands, as some of the i^est of ub do, but if you will make clear what you desire as a
body, his only wish is to do as you want liim to do.
Mr. Frank D. La Lanne (.PkHaddphia): Mr. President, Mr. fUene has sud that our
desires will be listoned to by the Chair, and I know the desire of the Chair is always to be fair,
— but in this audience there are many men who do not understand French, and I am one d
them, and I can't follow the decision of the Chair; and therefore, so that we cao understand
the decision ot the Chair — which ie always fair — I would move that it be also put in Eng-
lish and in German, in those throe languages, so that every one of us here may understand
the rulings of the Chair. Now if that question is put I believe it will be carried, Mr. Presi-
dent, and I therefore make that motion.
Mr. Alfred Aslett: I take pleasure in seconding that motion.
U. le PiSsident; Je consid^re la question comme excessivement simple. On a vot^
sur le premier point, j'ai annonc^ le vote; sur le second point, il a'y a pas eu de vote acquis.
On a retir6 la question sur le second point. Enfin, k I'heure sctuelle, le Congrte s'eet simple-
ment prononc^ sur ceci: U est desirable d'avoir I'unification de la loi sur lea ch^uee, et c'est
tout. Rien autre cboee. Fas d'autre vote, pas d'autre r^Jution. Sommes-nous d'accotd?
(Tratt^alim)
I think the question exceedii^y simple. The first point has been voted upon, and
I have announced it; on the second point, no vote has been taken. The question on
the second point has been withdrawn. Up to the present the Congress has expressed
its mind on the following: That it is desirable to have unification on the law of checks,
and that is all. Nothing else. No other vote, no other resolution. Are we agreed?
Vs. Kent: I think we must bow to the ruling of our President. He has explained that
the vote was taken on the first point, but when we thoi^t that the vote was taken on the
second point and kist that was not so, because be bad not announced the result. He has
therefore permitted (be second point to be withdrawn without voting.
The President; Quite so.
Hr. Kent: That, I understand, is the ruling of the Chair, and to that ruling we must all
bow.
Ur. Pruei (London); I suggest, with the approval of Dr. Apt, that you should ap-
point a committee to consider this point further, a committee which should meet in London
and be charged with drawing up a report to be presented to the next meeting of this Con-
gress. That will be a step forward and will be dealing with a point of business in a busincsa-
like way. No one wants the point shelved. We want to go forward. If you will appoint a
ccmiruttee my friend Dr. Apt will serve and you will ^tpoint your own representatives also
to serve, and at your itest Congress you will r^pster your decision. I have the very great
pleasure to move the appointment of such a committee and ask my friend Dr. Apt to secfmd
the resolution.
Digitized byGoOgIC
226 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
Tb« PreBidont: What are you wiUiog to do7 I aak of the convention wh&t it ia wiDiDg
to do.
Dr. Apt (Berlin) : Meine Herrenl Eb wild beautragt, die Frage m5ge in einein Komitee
geprOft werden, das in London zusanunentreten soil, und daB der Gegeastand fOr heute vm
der Tagesordnung al^esetit wird. Damit bin ich einverstanden.
{TTOnalatUm)
Gentlemen, it has been proposed that the question should be considered by a com-
mittee which ehould meet in London and that the subject for the present time should
be withdrawn from the order of the d^. This is i^peeable to me.
Mr. Hfinsterbeig: I am just going to explain what Mr. Apt haa said. He ia peifectJ;
willing to second the suKeetioD that the Congress today ^point a committee which shall
consider the question of checks in London and shall report to the next Congress.
Mr. Fraseo' (Lotvlon) : And then peritaps you will kindly send in to Mr. Jottrand, eadi
section of you, the name of the gentleman you will nominate. I propose that each country
should nominate one lepresentative — or say two — tentatively, so that if one can't attend
the other will be present, though only one will vote for each country. That will etmstitale a
good workii^ committee and will enable you to report to your next Congrea. When that is
finished you will kindly send your names in to Monsieur Jottrand.
H. A. Barton Kent [Londrtt): Nous avona dea difficult^ dans un congrte comme celui-ci,
oft tout le monde ne comprend pas toutes lea Ungues. 11 a itk propose par quelques orat«ura
qu'& I'avenir, il serait plus simple d'avoir les propositions r€p£t£es au Congrte dans lee tiois
Ungues: angtaise, fran^aise et aUemande; et si vous le permettei, j'aimerais i. faire cette pro-
position, et que ce soit \o\A de suite, comme recommandation au prochain congrte.
(Traruio/ion)
We have difficulties in a Congress made up as is the present where every one does
not understand all the languages. It has been suggested by some speakers that in future
it would be more simple to have the propositions repeated to the Congrew in the three
languages, Et^lish, French and German; and if you will permit I should like to propose
to have it voted on here, as a recommendation to the next Congceee.
H. 1« resident: Je suia absolument d'accord, et je comptais faire moi^n&ne la motion.
(7>an«Iatum)
I agree entirely and I bad intended to make the motion myself.
H. Kent; Je vous demande pardon, monsieur le Prteident. Je me retire.
(TransioMon)
I beg your pardon, Mr. President, and I will withdraw.
H. le Prfisident: Je comptais faire moi-mSme la motion que touto propositioa soit
faite en frangais, en anglais et en allemand.
{Trantialioa)
I had intended myself to put the motion that all propositions shall be made in
FrKich, in English and in German.
{Cortiinuina in EngliA).
The ruling of the Chair b that the motions will be made in French, German and Fngi"*-
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 227
Hi. Alfred 0«orB (OeMva) : We have del^ates here from tventy countries, who speak
Spanish.
Tlie Premdent: It ia mif^eeted (Jutt motions be m&de in other languages than French,
Geiman and E^nglish?
Sir. Alfred Oeoif : Mr. Preddent, it has been suggested that Spanish be added, also.
There are here repreaentativee of twenty South American countries, who speak Spanish.
(COTifinuinf *" French)
Monsieur le President et messieuis, la convention ou la commission dont ont pax\6 les pr£-
oMents orateUTB aurait beaucoup i. appre&dre en se rendant t Londres pour voir ce qui se
passe li-bas en mati^ de ch^ue; tnais, messieurs, j'ai quelque scrupule k accepter la pro-
position qui a 6t6 fait« de designer une d6l£gation sp^iale k cet effet. Nous risquons de
m&rcher ainsi sur les bris^es du congrte spfeialistc qui est charge de e'occuper de cette ques-
tion. Je crains en outre que la plupart des pays ici repr^sent^ auront queJque peine k nom-
mer des d&igaia spdciaux pour aller ^tudier sur place, k Londrea, le fonctionnement du ch^ue.
Je crois que nous devons abandonner cette question it I'examen de la conference sp^ciale
qui doit Be r&mir k La Bays, et s'il est utile d'envoyer une d^l^ation k Londres pour y ^tu-
dier le fonctiounement du cheque, elle le fera; mais je crois que ce n'est pas k nous qu'il op-
partient aujourd'hui de prendre cette position.
iTramlation)
Mr. President and Gentlemen, the convention or committee which the preceding
speakers have mentioned would have a great deal to learn by going to London to see
what is being done on the subject of the check. But, gentlemen, I see some objections to
accepting the proposal which has been made to appoint a special delegation for this pur-
pose. We should run a risk of thus following in the footsteps of the Congress of special-
ists which is to occupy itself with this question. I fear also that most of the countries
here represented would find some difficulty in selecting special delegates to study on the
ground, in London, the operation of the check.
I believe that we should leave this question to the investigations of the special con-
ference which is to meet in The Hague, and if it is desirable to send a delegation to Lon-
don t« study there the operation of the check it will do so, but I do not think that the
present time is the time for us to take this position.
H. le Prfiddent: Le point a ^t^ vid^. Cette question de comity, U faudrait I'expliquer
en allemimd et en anglais.
{Tranilotion)
The matter has been decided. This question of the committee should be explained
in German and in English.
Hr. Georg: The Congress believes that it has now been decided that we are going to
nominate the commisHion. I think it ia not in our program for the Congress to nominate the
commission at this time, but I think the special conference that is going to deal with this
matt«r will nominate a special commission to see what is going on in London about checking,
for instance, and looking into other matters that we do not have before this commission. I
do not think the different countries here represented would agree to the proposition that
has been made, and 1 propose to our President that he consider the proposition made as not
accepted.
Digitized byGoOgIC
228 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
H«n Mfinsterbetg: Ich mdchte similohBt fOr meine deutschen Fieunde einmAl aagen,
was HeiT Dr. Georg gemeint hat, damit keiii MiCverst&ndniB unterl&uf t.
£r Mlt es nicht fta richtig, daC in diesem Augenblick der KongreQ ein Kami(«e einaetst,
welches die Frage studkren 6oU, weil — wenn ich ihn richtig veratanden habe — derEongrefi
im Haag sich bereits damit beech&ftigte durch eine Reihe von Special-Sachveretindigrai. Et
meint daher, es erObrige sich, jetit darQber bier lu beschlieBen.
Ich peraonlich bin der Ansicht, daQ wir durch die Diakuauoa nicht weiteritommoi, und
dad der KongreC jetit darOber beschlieOen muG, ob er ein Eomitee einsetsen will oder uidit.
Mag dann nachher daraiu werden, was da wHl.
iTrantUUion)
Mr. Pieudent, I should like to say for the benefit of my Gennan friends what Dr.
G«o^ intended in order that there may be no tniaundentandiDg.
He does not consider it right tiiat the Congress should create a committee at this
time to study the question, since — if I have understood him correctly — the Congreee at
The Hague has already investigated the subject by means of a body of experte. He
believes, therefore, that it would be supeifluous to make any decision at this time.
I am personally of the opinion that we cannot make any prepress by means td
debate and that the Congress should now decide whether it wilt appoint a committee ix
not. This without regard to any possible results.
(ConJtnutRf in Englieh)
Mr. President, I beg leave to say one word for myself. Mr. Georg has pven it as his
opinion that the Congress would do better not to appoint a committee, because the con-
ference at The Hague is made up of special delegates of all countries to study this ques-
tion, Mr. Geoig thinks the subject wiU be handled periiapa far better in that way than
it could be handled or studied by us here, now. Ezpresmng my personal opinion, I feel,
just as some of the American del^ates have said, that it is not of very much use for us
now to speak about such questions here, yes or no. The Congress is, of course, sovereign.
Tlie Congress may appoint a commission, and if the Congress votes to have a commission
the Permanent Committee must tiy to find the people who can constitute it — unless the
CongresB itself will nominate certain gentlemen to constitute this committee. Of course, the
President can take the vote of the Congress on the matter.
Ur. R. S. Fraser (London): Mr. President, may I suggest that there should be some
finality about our resolutions. You put the motion, the body voted on it, and it is finished.
iApplame.) I certainly do not underatand public proceedings if, after a resolution is passed,
some good, well^neaning man can rise to express himself and ask that it be set aside. I move,
Mr. President, that we proceed to the next business. (Apptauae.)
Hr. Gaorg: Mr. President, in order that I may be imderstood, I will say that I am quite
sure that the special commission would learn very much in London about the check matter,
but I would say here that we cannot nominate at this time the right peraons to make the
study, and I think the special commissiDn ought to be elected by the conference at The Hague.
(PoieM, "Next butineatl")
H. le PrSsIdent: Mesdeurs, je dois rappeler quels sont les r^ements du Comity.
(TranslaHon)
Gentlemoi, I ought to remind you of the rules of the Committee.
Hr. Frasra: We voted to appoint tiiat special oommittee and, that special committee
having been appointed, the matter cannot be very well settled until the next Congress. In
the meantime, that committee will assemble in London. The thing is closed. Of couise.
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 229
each countiy might nomuuite ila repreoentative or two repreeentatives on the committee at
London, to meet in London. Tbey will meet in Loi»lon and report to the next Congress.
Let ue now proceed to the next buBineae.
H. 1« PriBident: Je consulte doac I'assembl^ pour savoir quels sont ceux qui sont
d'avis de voir nommer le comit^; qu'ile veuillent bien lever la main. {Levie de maint dea
dtUffui*.) Que ceux qui sont d'avis contraire Invent la main.
(.TranOaHtm)
I consult the assembly to find out those who are of opinion that a cconmittee should
be named. Let them raise their hands. {Baiting o} hand* by the d^tgatei.) Those
who are oppoaed please raise their hands.
U. le PiiBident; Le vote pour le comit^ est adopts. Je vais doao vous demander
de voter ausai aur ce point dont j'ai pari* tout 4 I'heure en prenant la motion faite par un
honorable membre.
(TTanBlatim)
The vote for the committee is adopted. I will Uierefore ask you to vote also on tlte
point I mentioned a little while ago on the disposition of a motion made by an honor-
able member.
Hr. Manuel Walls y Merino (.Spotn): Mr. President, if the French, German and
English are to be used, I believe the Spanish also should be used. There is a strong feeling
here that tiiat should be done. The demand comes from twenty-one countries, it being the
second language spdcen in the world, after the English. So I think that should be takva into
consideration, as well as the German.
Mr. Albert C. Bonaschl: Mr. President, I would like to see only the three languages —
English, French and German — used in this connection. If there is any other to be added, I
would move that the Italian be added. It is spoken by neaiiy forty millions in Italy, as*well
as by a large number in other parts of the world.
H. le ftfisident: fites-vous satisfaits, alora, si I'tm propose la motion que les motions
soient faites en frangais, en allemand, en an^ais, en e^agnol et en italien?
Ceux qui sont d'avis de faire les motions dans les cinq languee que je viens d'indiquer,
qu'ils Invent la main.
(Tran«Iah'on}
Are you satisfied then, if the motion is proposed that all motions should be made in
French, in German, in Rngliah ^ in Spanish and in Italian?
Those who favor making motions in the five languages just mentioned, please raise
the hand.
(Continuing in Englith)
Those in favor of having every vote and resolution announced in 1'^gli''t', French,
German, Spanish and Italian, will raise their hands. (A mtmber raited their hands.)
Those who are opposed will raise their hands. (A lai^er number raited Iheir hand*.)
The motion was declared lost.
H. le President: La question est incertaine; je ne pourraia pas me d^ider. Je pense
qu'il faut savoir nous bomer. II est Evident que la plupart d'entre nous ici comprenons au
moins I'une des trois Ungues que je viens de citer: le frangais, I'anglais et I'allemand. Ce sont
lea trois langues dans leequelles les motions seront faites. Ceux qui sont de cet avis, qu'ils
veuillent bien lever la main. (.Leoie de main* dee diUfuia.) L'6preuve contraire. (Levie de
moww de guelquet dUtguia.) La motion eat adoptee. (Applaudieiemenle.)
Digitized byGoOgIC
230 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
{Trantlaium)
The matter is left in doubt; I caimot decide myself. I think we ought to keep
ouiselves within bounds. It is evident that most of ua here understand at least one <rf
the iime languages which I have just mentioned: French, "t'^El'''>' and Gennan. Tbeee
are the three languages in which tike motions will be made. Those who are <d this
opinion will kindly raise the hand. (A number of d^egatet railed their hands.) Contniy
mindedT (A tmaUer number of delegatea raised their hands.) The motion Ja adopted.
(AppUnue.)
A recess was taken at 12.6fi rji. to 2.30 p JL
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
:f ourttt Sftsltiim
COMMERCIAL STATISTICS, AMD THE IMMEDIATE mSTITIT-
TION OF AN INTERNATIONAL OFHCE
The mBmben of the Congieaa reassembled at 3 p.u.
FTeddent Canon-LoKrand
Meaaieura, la stance eat reprise.
Le qu&tti^e objet k I'ordre du jour ayant £M, k la demande dea int^reas^, remis k la
stance de demain, nous abotderons le ciuqui&ne objet: "Statistique commerciale et insti-
tution inun^iate d'un office international."
Le rapporteur, M. EnafcMB All^bd, a la parole, et je prierais lea rapporteurs, comme
toUB lee orateurs, d'dtre ansai brefs que poeeible.
(rroiulofum)
Gentlemen, the sitting is resumed.
The fourth matter in the order of the day having been, at the request of ptutlea
interested, poatponed until to-morrow's session, we will take up the fifth matter;
"CommerciBl Statistica, and the Immediate Institution of an International OfiSce."
The Reporter, Mr. Euafeira Ajjlabd, has the floor, and I ask the Reporten, as all
the other speoken, to be aa brief as possible.
H. AOard: Meesieurs, je vais i^pondre k la demande de notre cher prudent en £taiit
le plus bref possible. Du reste, je ne Toudrais pas troubler votre digestion en vous infligeaut
la lecture de toute la paperaeeerie, ^>rto tous les rapports que voua aves eus.
{Tratidation)
Gentlemen, I shall respond to the request of our dear President by being as brief
as poeaible. Moreover, I would not trouble your digestion by inflicting upon you tha
reading of this pile of papets after all the reports you have hod.
H. le ftfisident: On ne lit pas les rapports, on les resume.
{TrmOaHtM)
The reports are not read, they should be aummariied.
U. Bngtae Allard, President of the Belgian Chamber of Commerce of Paria
Le rteum^ en sera trie simple. La question qui est k I'ordre du jour, la statistique
cODUoerciale, a cette bonne fortune, qu'elle est la seule depuia I'inatitution de noa congrte
intemationaux, qui obtient une solution pratique par le fait d'une entente gouvemementale
pour I'Stablisaemeiit d'une atatiatique douani^re intemationole. Vous n'ignores pas que
la conference r£unie k Bruxelles a'eat miae d'accotd sur un groupe suppl^mentaire statis-
tique de chaque pays, dans lequel seront relev^s un nombre determine de produite. Ce groupe-
ment forme aujourd'hui deux cent huit catteries. Vous voyes le beau riaultat que nous
avons obtenu. Lors de notre congris de Milan, nous avions deux cent aoixante et quinze
categories, et k Bruxelles, nous avona obtenu deux cent huit. En consequence, il y a ce fait.
Digitized byGoOgIC
232 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
c'eet que la ocmf^retice a accept^ uite clsaaification unifonne. Ce qui est r^retUble c'wt
que cette m^ine conference, aprte avoir d^lar£ qu'il fallait ^tablir ce groupement dana la
fltatistique prochaine, qui £tait la Btatistique de 1910, n'a absolumeol rien fait. Tout eat leeti
en 6tat, parce qu'i la conference il o'eet produit une proposition nouvelle, qui ^tait I'organi-
aation d'un bureau permanent pour r^tablissement de Btatistiquee douani^ieB. H paralt que
la conference va se r^unir, une nouvelle B^ance va avoir lieu sous peu, et que r<»i en arriven
h une solution pratique. Je croU que nous devrions fonnuler un veeu demandant au gouveroe-
ment qui a pria I'initiative de la reunion de cette conference de Utter ses travsui, afin que k
commerce international pui^se enfin avoir la Batisfaction qu'il reclame; et ce vteu, je la for-
mule dana mon rapport, en des tennee qui pouiraient parattre plus ou moina comminat^uies,
et que je voua proposerais de changer dans le sens suivant:
"Le Congrte, reconnaissant de I'initiative prise par le gouvemement Beige d'avcxr i4uni
t Bruxelles le 19 septembre 1910, les deiegu^s dc vingtKleux Etats pour chercher les nwyeoi
d'introduire plus d^iarmonie et plus d'unite dana les tableaux dee echanges du commerce
mondial, se ralliant it la decision prise it cette conference de faire etablir par chacun de cea
Ctats en dehors de sa statistique commerciale, une nomenclature commune oA doivent se
grouper des marchandisee importeee et exportece, sous la double indication du poids et de It
valeur, expiime le vceu que cette nomenclature figure dans le plus bref ddlai poeeible dans lea
tableaux statistimieadesgouvemements representee & la conference; approuve la proposition i
la conference de Bnixellee de voir crier un bureau international de la statistique commerciale,
charge de centraliser toutes lee indications utilee, pour donner au oonimerce mondial un apei^
annuel, et autant que poeaible semestriel, et par la suite mensuel, du mouvement commercial da
different^ pays du globe, redigfi oonformement au groupement des marchandisea adopte par
la conference susdite;emetleTCEU que le gouvemementbelgemvitAsana retard tous lea Etats
k conclure une convention assurant la mise en ceuvre des travaux projetee."
Voili, messieurs, les vceux que je vous propose de vouloir bien adopter.
(7Van«Ia(wm)
The summary will be very simple. The question which is on the order of the Aaj,
Commercial Statistics, has this good fortune, Uiat it is the only one, since the organi-
sation of our International Congresses, which obtains a practical solution throu^ a
governmental agreement for the eatabliahment of international customs statistici.
You are aware that the Bruasela Conference has agreed on a supplementaiy etatisticsl
group of each country, wherein a fixed number of products will be noted. This group-
ing to-day contains 208 categories. You see the beautiful result we have obtained.
During our Milan Congress we had 275 categories, and in Brussels, 208. As a result,
the fact appears that the conference has accepted or adopted a uniform classification.
What is regrettable is, that this same conference, after having declared that a group-
ing should be established in the next statistics, those of 1910, has done absolutely noth-
ing. All has remained in the same state because at the conference a new propomtion
was produced, that of oi^anizing a permanent bureau for the establishment of custooi-
house statistics. It seems that the conference will meet, that a new session will soon
take place, and a practical solution will be reached. I believe that we should fonnn-
late our wish in a request to the government which has taken the initiative of a
conference meeting, to hasten its wortc, so that international commerce may have
the desired satisfaction; and this wish appears in my report in terms iridch mi^t tft-
pear more or less tbrealening, and which I would propose to change as follows :
"The Congress, recognizing the initiative taken by the Belgian GoTemmentin bring-
ing together at BrusBels on September 19, 1910 delegates of twenty-two States to se^
for the means of introducing more harmony and unity in the tables of exchanges of the
commerce of the whole world, approving the decision taken at that conference to have
established for each one of these States, in addition to its own commercial statistics, a
common nomenclature, under which may be grouped all merchandise imported or ex-
ported under the heading of both weight and value, expresses the wish that this common
nomenclature may appear with the bnefest possible delay in the statistical tables of the
governments represented at the conference, and hopes that the Belgian GovktudcdI
may be willing to continue its co-operation for the realisation of this program, Uptons
„Google
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 233
the pTopoeition tnade at the BniBseU Conferenoe for the creation oC an intematioiial
bureau of commercial atatistics for the purpose of centralising information under all uB^ul
headings to give to the commerce of the whole world an annual Bummaiy, and ae soon as
possible a semi-annual summary and eventually a monthly atmunary oi the commercial
movementa of the different countries of the ^lobe, arranged in conformity with the
nouping of merchandise adopted by the aforesaid conference, adopts the resolution that
Ute Belaan Government invite without delay all the States to conclude a convention as-
suring the execution of the projected work.
These are the suggestions I wish you to adopt.
H. te President: Ces motions, sur lesquelles nous aurons k voter, soat traduitea en
an^&is et en allemand; je voua en domierai done lecture tout & I'heure dans lea trois langues.
Pour ne pas perdre de temps, je donne la parole h M. W. M. Hatb, aBaiatant>Becr6taire de
ragricutture & Washington.
(TrantlaHon)
These motions on which ne shall have to vote are translated into English and Ger-
man and I will read them to you later in the three languages. Not to lose time I give
the floor to Mr. W. M. Hatb, AaaiBtaiit Secretary of AgricultuK at Washington.
Mr. W. H. Hays, Auutatd Seerelary of Agriculture, TFotUn^ton, D. C.
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
I am at some disadvantage in discuaaii^ this question at the present point, but I do
wish to discuss for a few momenta a broader aide of this subject of international atatistics,
somewhat from the standpoint of all our markets. I sincerely hope that you will cany this
motion in some such form. I don't know the exact form of your motions. This matter of
international statiatica, world-area statistics, not only of agricultural products but of manu-
factured products and all products in store, needs to be followed out in its complete form, as-
is demonstrated not only by the woii: done by the statistical bureau of this country and by
the bureaus of other countries, but by the bureau of statistics of the International Institute
of Agriculture at Rome, which deals with those international statistics that have gradually,
as our good friend from Belgium suggests, come under a common nomenclature for the entire
Those statistics are becoming useful slid we need such statistics in our madcets. They
should not be prepared ao much by bureaus of the markets themselves or by private firms in
connection with those maAets, but by public bureaus. They will be useful not only in the
locality where products are originally dealt witii, but in the places where they are to be dis-
tributed. These statistics will greatly help the producers, the farmers, particularly those
producing perisfa^le products, as well as being of assistance to the market agencies. They
wiU help in the carrying of the right amoimt of products to the maricets all the time, as well
as keeping more steady suppUes of products. This will have an important bearing on the
handling of the product, will steady and balance things up and will be much better for peo-
ple all along the line.
The trade statistics are driftii^ gradually from private agencies to public agmcies.
Some one might say at once that the statistics of perishable products are so difficult to deal
with they cannot be handled by a public agency; but let me call to your attention the inade-
quate and bad handling of the statistics by private agencies. If the thing could be guaranteed
in some public agencies so that accurate figures could be obtained in the way of original sta-
tistics at the point where the products are produced and figures showing how the supply
fluctuates from day to day, also obtaining statistics of the consuming market, where the con-
suming power also fiuctuatea from day to day, if all these statistics, dealing with the pro-
ducer, the merchant, the transporting agencies and the consumer, could be handled in one
way, it would be a great advantage to the country.
Digitized byGoOgIC
234 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
So I say that we need to bring more and more of these etatiatica into public agendca,
leaving to the mai^ets their proper function, which is that of melting that whieh ia gathered
together daily in the daily price. In agriculture, and in many other linee, we want not only
the statbtics of production but tlie statiaticfi of stocks in transit, of stocks in store, of manu-
factuied products which ent«r into competition with the products produced in funushing a
basis for the price; and we even need statistics, possibly public^ gathered, as to ibe ability
of the boDSuming public that consumee a given product, so as to reduce the market agencita
more nearly to their one function — melting these down into daily prices.
The producers of cotton in this and other countries have Dome to give up their facts as
to production. The manufacturers will see that it is fair that they give up the prices concem-
ing their stocks in hand, and the consuming public certainly will be glad to have told the
facta as to their purchasing power and to be told, if need be, under public bureaus.
I believe most sincerely that if we can extend to these public agencies all along the lime
— not in connection with the splendid plans with reference to tariffs and these large move-
ments, but generally so as to handle facts regarding the movements of our products, the
quantities at one end and the requirements of the consumer at the other end — it will hdp
to smooth out the inequalities, the difficulties, wrongs, irritations of our whole trade situa-
tion; and with this data in hand it may be that world commissions, some worid agencies,
may be able to woHc out a bett«r scheme of marketing with a lessened amount of this irritat-
ing speculation on margins that we now have. Whatever is done in this way must be dtrne
in a careful and most constructive way, not in an arbitrary or weak way, but in a most nsn-
prehensive way; and I do not know ef any agency able to handle the question with the breadth
and intricacy needed, short of some sort of world commission. The Intematicmal Institate
of Agriculture at Borne, possibly co-operating with some such ccHnmission as you contemplate,
may give a great deal of help in this matter. Many things wrought out by Mr. Lubin and his
associates will be of great use in elaborating the plans that you and I have in mind.
So far as agricultural statistics for world areas are concerned, the agencies are well es-
tablished in connection with this institution at Rome, and institutions in the various coun-
tries, under the guidance and inspiration of the Bureau of Agriculture at Rome, mi^t be
able to do very much. The various agencies in the different countries, as Lubin tells me,
are gradually increasing and perfecting their industries and have woriied out these statistics
of production in the various countries. Then, as you suggest, Mr. Allard, they divide them
into two. They use the local statistics as they need them and give to the statistical agemdes
the figures needed for world business and the hMiHling of world products.
The most significant fact in this entire matter does not specifically concern ntaikets,
nor tariffs, nor nomenclature, nor methods of gathering and distributing statistics, mw of
marketing products, nor of removing the frenzied finance, the gambling, or the irritation to
trade from our margin markets. The significant fact, as best illustrated by the Intematioaa]
Institute of Agriculture, is that we have begun to think and act in the terms of a world gov-
ernment. And may we not hope that as the machinery of world government is develtfied
the exigencies of business may greatly contribute to the organisation of a world govemmait
which will assure world peace among the nations ss our national governments now prevent
war among their federated states.
When worid business clearly senses the fact that a world police, with a local police for
the internal affairs of each nation, is a business necessity, we shall have another large inffn-
ence for the orgauisation of that worid republic which now seems esaier to organise and to
«ndow with stability than did the creation of a great Republic when the Thirteen American
Colonies were struggling to form a progressive government.
A really efficient and powerful commission to study world trade mi^t do wonders in
the interest of trade, and especially in the interest of the producer and the consumer, the
common people who hereafter must pay the high costs of living. Such a commission cei-
tunly would do a large service in the Interests of world peace, of oi^aniiing the world in the
interests of the whole world.
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 235
H. le Prfitfdent: Je remercie I'orateur de ees remarques but la question dee statistiqueB
relatives k ragriculture. Ce qu'il a dit n'a rien qui eoit oppoa£ aux conclusiouB de M. Allaid,
dont je TOU8 doimerai lecture tout & I'heure. M. VmaxB a demands ta parole.
lTrandati<m)
I thank the speaker for his remaiks relative to agricultural Btatiatics. What he
h«s said ie not opposed to the conclusion of Mr. Allard, which I will read to you in a
moment. Mr. Fkaseb has requested the floor.
Mr. R. S. FraB«r, Member ^ Council of London Chamber a} Commerce
Mr. President, I woidd not have been a participator is Uue discussion had not a friend
been imavoidably prevented from being present. I would much rather not discuss the paper,
but draw attention to the fact that the writer does not make reference to the progress that
has beoi made since the year 1008, when this matter came first before this association. A
committee was tLen appointed to consider and investigate the matter and formulate pro-
posals, and my friend Mr. Musgrave, secretaiy of the London Chamber of Commerce, read
an exceedingly able paper at the London CongresB in the year 1910. With your permission
I wiD read to you a stuirt resolution that was then approved.
"This Congress is of opini<m that uniformity in the compilation of customs statistics,
and particularly in regard to methods of valuation of imports and exports, is of the highest
economic importance, and commends the subject to the attention of the diSerent govenmients
and to the International Statistical Institute."
Now, sir, the International Statistical Institute did hold a meeting last year at The Hague
when two very remarkable and notable offers were made by the governments of Switierland
and Holland in the way of taking partioular steps for establishing a pennanent bureau for
handling this very subject. I will read you from the report of last year. Monsieur Milier,
official dei^ate of Switserland, immediately arose and declared in the name of his govern-
ment that they were ready to take the necessary steps for the foundation of an international
statistical office by engagiDg at tmce in an arrangement between the governments of the dif-
ferent countries. The representative of the Netherlands arose and announced on behalf of
his government that they were prepared not only to take the necessary steps to promote the
establishment of an intematkinal statistical office, but would also meet the expense of such an
office up to a certain ■""*■'"■■'" for the first two years. Now, sir, my suggestion is that we
take with sincerity the commission appointed by this assooiation in the year 190S and af-
firmed in 1910 and also the commission appointed by the International Statistical Institute,
and we should ask those two commissions to confer together with a view to availing ourselves
of the offers of the two governments that I have mentioned. I support with all heartiness
the proposition of my friend AUard, and ask you please merely to treat my criticisms as of a
friendly character, intended to strengUien his hands and not in any way to derogate frran the
force of the arguments which he has used.
U. le President: L'orateur vient done de demander que Ton s'arrange pour que les
deux conferences qui existent d6i& puiseent correspoudre entre ellee, de mani^re k renforoer
leur action respective.
J'ai encore comme orateur inscrit M. Sobtbbeb.
(Trafulutton)
The speaker would therefore ask that it should be arranged so that the two con-
ferences which already exist might correspond with each other, in order to reinforce
their respective action.
I have another speaker on the order of the Axj, Dr. Soetdkeb.
Digitized byGoOgIC
236 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Dr. SoetbMff, Oeneral Seeretary o] "Der Deuttdte HanMttaif," Berlin
Meine Heirenl Ea ist noch nioht hinreichend bekannt geworden, welche Stelliing die
einzelnen Ii«gieTungeii einnehmeD zu den Vorechligen, die im BrOsael lur Vereinbeitlicbuiig
der mtemationAlen Handeb-Stfttistik gemacht worden aimd. Ich gest&tte mir daber, htet
mitiuteilen, daB das Kaiserlich-Statistische Amt dee Deutachen Re[chs durduuu auf dcm
Boden der BrOsseler BeachlOsae steht, daQ gem&S den WOnschea, die dieser KongreB aehtoi
frtther ge&uQert hat, es als ein groBer Fortschritt anzuaehen iat, wenn die verschiedenen Sta-
tdatiken der verHchiedeneii I&nder in gleiche Gruppen gebrocht werden. Das Kaiserlkb-
Statistieche Amt des Deutschen Reichs sieht keine un&berwindlichen Schwieii^eiten darin,
die deutsche Statistik auf die 185 Onippen, die die BrOsseler BeschlQsse vorschlagen, einxit-
lichten.
Daa Deutsche KBiserlich-Statistische Amt ist femer damit einverstanden, daO in Brfload
ein Internationales Statistisches Bureau sur weiteren Ffirderung dieser Bestrebungm einge-
richtet wild. Man hat mir gesagt, daQ es nicht an der deutschen Regiening liegt, wmn dia
Angelegenheit nicht schneller vorw&rts gebt, und daC es die deuteche R«^enuig begrilflai
wilide, wenn dieser KongreQ dahiu wirkt, daB auch die anderen SUtaten aieh aehneller cnt-
■ehlOmen, lu den BrOsaeler Vorechligen Stellung lu nehmen, domit das Ziel eireicht wild,
das sioh der KongreQ duroh seine frQher«n BeschlQase geateckthat.
(Translohon)
Gentlemen, it is not yet entiiely known what position the various goTemments
adopt towards the proposals which were drawn up at Brussels for the unifieatkai «f
international commercial statistics. I take the hlxrty, therefore, of stating here that
the Imperial Statistical Bureau of the German Empire is based entirety on the prindide
of the Brussels resolves, according to the suggestion which had already been prevjously
expressed by this Congress that it would be a great step forward if the various statis-
tical tables of the various countries could be arranged in idmtical groupings. Tbt
Imperial Statistical Bureau of the German Empire does not see any insurTnountt^le
difficulties in the way of dividing the Geiman statistics into lite 185 groups prt^Mxed
by the Brussels resolves.
The German Imperial Statistical Bureau further agrees that an intematioQal sta-
tistical bureau might be established in Brussels for the further advancement of these
purposes. I have been told that it is not the fault of the Gennan Government that
the matter does not make greater progress and that the German Govemntent woold
be glad if this Congress should take steps to persuade other States to decide more
quickly to act on the Brussels proposals, in order that the aim may be attuned whit^
has been set by the Congress in ite previous resolves.
H. le President: M. Shominqeb a demands la parole.
ITraitdaiUm)
Mr. SHONiHaBB requests the floor.
Hr. Barnard J. Shoniiig«r, PretiderU of the Atnmatn Chancer of Commerce m Pant
I have (mfy a few words to say. We from the American Chamber of Commerce io Paris
and I think the representatives of American commercial organiiations present, are heartily
in favor of the project as submitted by my friend Mr. AUard. We have only one suggestiaa
to make. Just before — in fact, the day before I left Paris — I had the hiour of speaking,
in the absence of the Minister of Finance, to his chief secretary, who advised me that the
French Government had decided to invite — and possibly the invitations had been alieady
sent, for May, 1913, — all governments to participate in a second congress which they oA
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 237
— and as I have the official prognun before me I will read from that — the Deuzidme Con-
gria Doimnidre, — and the pn^rom which I will read to you afterwaide is exactly on the
lines propoeed. I have no authority to eay so, but I think that if we would all agree to adopt
in principle the propositions as proposed by Mr. Allard, and besides that use our influence
BO that all the governments will be represented at this congress to be held in Paris in May,
1913, which you see is only six months hence, a tittle over six months hence, that a great step
forward will be made in the much to be desired unification of statistics. Besides the ques-
tions put forward here there are one or two others. 1 have the program in French. I will
read it in French and then give those that do not understand the French the translation.
(Mr. S!umin{/er read* the French program of the Deitxiime Congrit Douaniire, to be A«td
in Parit in May, lfll3.)
You therefore see that the French Government has virtually adopted the fonnati<ni of
an international bureau.
Now 1 will try to state this for those that do not underatand the French. There are five
eections put here inviting other governments to participate in this congress in May, 1913.
The French Government virtually accepts in principle two of the most important questions
that are now before you. The first and the last are those that are adopted. The others are
ft little bit in«levant to this, but still come into the Congreea. The first is the interest that
would attach to the creation of an international bureau of statistics, so as to group all the
information botii for imports and exports from all the different countries and to establish a
table that would indicate at a glance f heir movements. That, of course, the French Govern-
ment has adopted because they ask you to join.
Second, how to establish relations that would regulate two questions, — commercial
travelers first, and their samples, second. This is irrelevant, but it interests everybody.
Third, to study questions that would do away with the payment of duties on merchandise
that would be imported on approval. Fotuih, would it not be deidrable to establish some
kind of a board whereby all questions, or customs questions, under discussion in all coun-
tries would be left to a certain board of experts? And then this question is subdivided again:
Will it be best to submit that to a board of expeite composed of legal experte or only to those
connected with cuslom-houses?
Now I will come to the last question, but which also todches the question before us.
Wouldn't it be well to pursue the study by which some international agreement would be
arrived at, tending to adopt a definition, a uniform definition as to what constitutes net weight
and gross weight, in order to apply that to all custom-house questions?
So that you see the first and last questions on which the French Government has asked
all governments to join is heartily accepted by them and they want your accord. We are
heartily in accord witii all these questions. The only little difference of opinion is in regard
to the questions raised by Mr. Allard. We would probably be asked to invite the Belg;ian
Government to have another Congress on this same subject. Whether to have it before or
after that of the French Government is for you to decide. I thought it was my duty, having
been entrusted with thin matter, to bring it before you. Gentlemen, I thank you for your
attention.
M. 1* President: Tons les orateurs semblent done d'accord. Je m'en veus maintenant
vous donner lecture dea conclusions de M. Allard dans les trois langues, pour qu'il n'y ut
pas de confusion. La discussion est close.
{Lectare dee amclusitmt done let troie languee.)
Voili done dans les trois langues ta premi&re partie des conclusions de M. Allard. Je
lea mets aux voix. Que ceux qui sont d'avis de I'adopter Invent la main. {Levie de nurint.)
L'fipreuve contraire. (Pereonne ne live la main.) II n'y a pas d'objection. Cette premie
partie est done adopts.
Vient maint«iiant dans la proposition de M. Allard un eecond point:
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
..nnrouvar la n
nations
pour donmer un apei^ annuel, aetnesttiel, mensuel, r£dig6 conformiineat & un eroupement
oes nmrchandiBes adopts par la conference Busdite."
Que ceux qui Bont d'avia d'adopter lea lermes de oette propoaition l^ent la main. (Le-
vie de mains.) L'^preuve contrsire. Adopts.
Enfin, M. Allard tannine en ^ettant "le t(eu que le gouvemement belf^ invite bbdb
retard tous les pays & conclure une convention but la mise en suvre dea travaux projet^"
La communication de M. Shoninger taii connaltre que le gouvemement francais marche de
8oncAt£.
Enfin, c'eat un voeu que nous pouvons, je pense, £mettre dans toua les caa. U vaut mieiiz
qu'il y ait deux gouvememente qui a'oocupent de U ohoee qu'un aeul.
{Leetvre de Ea condition demitre en anglaii et en aUetnand.)
Que ceux qui aont d'avia d'adopter cette demiire propoaition Invent la main. {Leoie dt
maint.) L'^reuve contraire. Le Congrte adopte, et nous pouvoos conaid&«r cette question
ctanme tetminto.
(Translation)
All the apeakera aeem then to agree. I will now read to you Mr. Allard'a COD-
ehieions in the three languagea in order to avoid confusion. The diacuadon ia cloeed.
(Readin{f finl three -paraurajtha of reaoluHons in French, German and Bnifiith.)
Here is then in three languagea the first port of Mr. Allard's conclusions. I put
them up for a vote. Those who approve the adoption thereof, please niae their bands.
(Raisini) of hands.) Any one contraryT {No hartd is raised.) There ia no objection-
This first part ia therefore adopted.
Now in the proportion of Mr. AUard comes a second point;
"The approval of the prepoeitiona made at the Bruaaela Conference looking U> the
creation of an international bureau of commercial statistics, entrusted with the centroli-
sation of all necessary indications, aiming at giving annual, semi-annual and monthly
reports, worded in accordance with (be grouping of the merchandise as adopted by the
aforementioned conference."
Those who favor the adoption of thia proposition, pleaae raise their hands. (AoiaiNff
tff handt.) Those who do not? Adopted.
Laatly, Mr. Allard concludes with the wish that the Belgian Government invite
without delay all the countries to conclude an agreement to put in operation tbe pro-
jected work. Mr. Shoninger'a communication informs ua that the French Govemmait
is proceeding in tbe same direction.
It is then a resolution which we can, I believe, adopt in any case. It is better
that two governments attend to the matter than one.
(Reads last resoltiiion in English and German.)
Those who are in favor of adopting this latter proposition will please raise tlieir
handa. (Handt are raised.) Those oppoaedT The Congress adopta the resolution, and
ne m^ consider this queation as closed.
(The French and English text of the resohdions vnU be found in Mr. AUard's addreet on
a prtvimu page; the German text is as follows:)
Der Kongrefi apricht seine Anerkennung aus Qber die seitens der belgiachen Re^eiung
ergriffene Initiative bei der Zuaammenberufung von sweiundiwansig Staalen in BrOssel, am
19ten September 1910, zum Zweck der Feststellung von Mitteln und Wegen, um grOfiera
IJbereinstimmung und Gleichm&Higkeit in der Aufstellung konunersieller Statiatikcn in der
Welt beibeiiufUhren; erteilt seine Zustinunung zum BesohluQ der beaagten Koofeiens, demso-
folge leder der in Betracht kommenden Staaten, auBer der regelm&£igen kommersieUen Sta-
tistik, eine gemeinschaftliche Klassifiiierimg aufatellt, nach der Export- und Import-Gtttcr
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 239
mit der doppelten Spezifikatioa von Gewicht und Wert gruppiert werden; drQckt den Wunsch
aus, daS diese gemeinscluftliche Klasaifisierung in den etatiHchen Tabellen der Regjenmgen,
die auf der Konfereiu vertreten waren, tunlichstbald eracheinen mOgen; und drilckt seine
ZuTermoht aua, daU die belgische Reg^erung auch in der Zukunft der VeroirklichuDg dieses
Planea eympathisch gegenUber eteben und denselben fStdem wild.
Der KongreO drQckt femer seine Zustinunung zu dem auf der BrOseeler Konfereni ge-
m&chten Vorschlag aus, denuufolge ein Internationales StatiBtisches Bureau eingerichtet
werden soil, deseen Obli^enheit ee eein soil, alle fOr den Welthandel nUtilichen Data zuBam-
menzuetellen und in einem jahrlichen Bericbt ru verdSentlichen, mit der weiteren Bemerkung,
daU dieeer Bericht tunlichst bald alle sechs Monate, und schlieliUch alle Monat« etscheinen
soil, wobei besagter Bericht die konuuerzielle Statietik der verscbiedenen L&nder dee Erdballa
auf Grand der von oben beeagter Konferem adoptierten gemeinachaftlicben Klassifiiierung
enthalten soil; und er drilckt femer den Wunach aua, die belgiscbe Regierung moge ohne
Venug alle Staaten einladen, ein Abkommen lu treffen, das die Verwiridichung obigen Wer-
kes mOglich macht.
VALIDATION OF THROUGH-ORDER-NOTIFY BILLS OF LADING
H. le Prfisident: Nous abordons I'objet suivant de I'ordre du jour qui est: "Confe-
rence Internationale ear la validity dea ConnaisBements directs & ordre, et utility d'une legis-
lation et d'auties moyens rendant leur systime plus efficace."
Nous avons un trte bon rapport, pt^sente par M. Cbaiuxb S. Haioht, de Nev-Yorii, qui
debute par un resume, afin de permettre k ceux qui ne veulent pas le lire en entier d'en avoir
n^>idenjent connaissance^
La parole eat done & M. Haioht.
(TrOMlaiion)
We now begin the next subject on the order of the day which is: "The Desirability
of an International Conference upon the Validation of Through^order-notify Bills of
Lading and of Legislation and Other Means for making the System more Effective."
We have a very good report presented by Mr. Charles S, Haight of New Yorit
which begins with a eununary in order to penoit those who do not care to read it in its
entirety to quickly obtain an acquaintance with the subject.
Mr. Haioht has the floor.
Hr. Chailu S. Haight, New York, N. Y.
I did not understand when I was asked to speak before you that it was my privilege to
recommend actiwk by the Congress. You will not find, tiierefore, in my paper any reference to
action. But I have been told that I may make such recommendations, and I would therefore
propose the following:
First, a resolution that tbia Congress approves of the legislation proposed and now be-
fore the United States Congress in the way of the Pomerene Bill, making carriers respon-
sible on their bills of lading where issued by their authortied agents after they have passed
into the hands of innocent third parties.
Second, a resolution that this Congress approves of the Cotton Bills of Lading Central
Bureau for the safeguarding of cotton bills of lading gainst forgery.
Third, — a point which I have not yet touched upon, — that this Congress recommend
to its Permanent Committee a consideration of the de^rability of an international congress
for the promotion of uniform laws governing international carriers.
It has been my privilege to represent a number of steamship companies. It has been
Digitized byGoOgIC
240 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
very lucrative (or lawyen, but extremely diBagreeable for them, to operate under the ccn-
ditions exiating to-day, which are that in Germany a certiun exemption in a bill of lading may
be perfectly legal, but in England that exemption may be illegal and void, and in a third ooon-
tiy a bill of lading contoinii^ that exemption may, when issued, constitute a crime. Inter-
national bills of lading are necessarily documents in which at least two countries are interested.
It is quite as impossible for an individual to accomplish the feat of conspiracy or matrimony as
it is for a single nation to regulate international shipments. You must have intematicaal
action. And as I know the situation of the steamship companies, beUeve me they would be
glad to co-operate in any movement which would enable them to know, once and for all, what
exemptions they may legally incorpoMte in their billa of lading and what exemptions at« for-
bidden. If an international conference can be held as the result of which each country delib-
erately considering the question may sgree with all the rest of the ctMnmercial woiM as to
the liabilities frinn which an ocean carrier or a rail carrier may exonpt himself and those
from which he may not, you will save the largest part of the friction which ttxlay exiate in
all the countries of the world. I would only ask that in such a conference Hie steamAip
companies, which are ao valuable to intenmtional trade, should not necessarily be classed
vitii those good old-fashioned bill of lading evils, the act of God, restraint of princes, rulers
and pe<^le, perils of the sea, barratiy and the like.
I thank you. (Applauae.)
H. 1q Prtsident: Je lis lea conclusions dans les trob languee.
{Trantlatum)
I will read the conclusions in the three languages.
(Beading, ai foUowa:)
I. That the Congress approves the legislation now pending in the Congresa of the
United States for establishing the liability of carriers on bills of lading issued by their
agents on international ahipmenta.
II. That the Congress views with satisfaction the Central Bureau Syst^n tor valida-
tion of bills of lading on international transactions.
III. That the Congress refere to the Permanent Committee the consideration of an in-
tematioual conference to pnnnote uniformity in the laws governing the liability of intema-
titmal carriers.
I. Que 1e Congrte approuve la legislation maintcnant sur le tapis au Congrte dee
£tat6-Unia ayant trait i, I'^tablissement de la responsabilit^ des francs-porteurs i propos
de connaissementa £mis par leurs agents dana des exp&litions intemationolee.
II. Que le Congrte voit avec aatiafaction le eyst^e d'un bureau central pour la vali-
dation des connaiseements dans dea transactions intemationalee.
III. Que le Congria a'en rapporte au comity permanent pour la consideration d'une oonfA-
ence Internationale pour favoriser runifonoiti dans les lob qui concement la responsabilit6
dee francs-porteurs intemationaux.
I. Der KongreO drQckt hiennit seine tJbereinstimmupg aus mit dem g^enw&rtig dem
Veretoigten Staaten-KongreB vorliegenden Gesettentwurf Aber die VerantwortUchkeit der
Verfrachter beEtlghch der Eonn(»semente, die von ihren Agenten mit Bemg auf Internatio-
nale Warensendungen ausgestellt worden sind.
II. Der KongreG drUckt hiermit seine Zustimmung aua cum Zentral-Bureau-System fOr
Validierung von auf intemationale Geschafte bezUgUchen Konnosaemeaten.
III. Der EongreQ verweist hiermit an daa at&ndige Komitee die Erledigung der Frage
einer intemationalen Konferens Hber die Befdrderung gleichm&Qiger Gesetigebung, die die
VerantwortUchkeit intemationaler Verfrachter zum Gegenstand hat.
The ftealdant: I have now registered as speaker Mr. Samtjel E. Fixa, of Costa Rica.
,yGoog[c
CHAMBEBS OF COMMERCE 241
B. Piza, Delegate <tf the Government of Coela Biea
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
The question brought up by Mr. Haight is, in my opinion, of the greatest importance of
any question brought before the Congress to this moment. It really deals with the most
important part of international transactions. It tends to prevent forgery is general and mis-
imderstaitdings between the merchants of one country and another.
It is not my intention to treat Mr. Haight's subject as a whole, but I will only point out
the importance of the first part of it — that is, the establishment of a thorough bill of lading.
That means that if we should h^>pen to obtain a i^stem of having the bills of lading made out
under a sound responsibility on the part of the canieis, we are perfectly safe to deal with the
bills of ladii^ without having to obtain any other information. Perhaps I am not clear enough
on that point. My object ia this. For instance, even when forgery is not the cause of the
trouble in any international transaction, there may be other difficulties. Suppose the goods
are loetT The fact that the bill of lading has been issued under a thorough responsibility on
the part of the shipper and the carrier, gives the insurance company itself, through the f^nt
where the goods land, a document upon which they can depend for the payment of any claim.
Recently in my country I had the opportunity of seeing what happened in connection with the
claim of a merchant in my country for some goods that were lost. -There was a great deal of
difficulty because the insurance company wanted documents from Italy and documents from
the government ctutoni'house in order to pay the railroad company the claim, which they were
to pay the merchant. If we had established the plan of making out bills of lading under a
thorough reqxinsibility of the shipper, all those difficulties would be avoided; the responsi-
biliQ' on the part of the carriers, on the part of the railroads themselves, would be much leas
in such cases. In fact, gentlemen, while I do not wish to discuss the subject any further, I
wish to express my greatest desire that the Congress take up with the greatest interest the
question that Mr. Haight has brought before us. {Afypiame.)
M. le President: Personne ne demande plus la parole? Je vous demande done de voter
Eur lee rteolutions dont je vous ai donn£ lecture. Je ne les reprends pas, je vous demande
seulement de lea voter une k une. La premi^:
(translation)
Are there any other speakers? I will, then, ask you to vote on the resolutions which
I have just had read to you. I will not repeat them but will ask you to vote for them one
by one. First:
"That the Congress approves of the legislation now pending in the Coni^reas of the Uni-
ted States for establishing the liabilities of carriers on bills of lading by their agents on in-
ternational shipments."
Que ceux qui sont d'avis d'adoptor cette resolution veuillent bien lever la main. (.Levie de
main*.) L'^reuve contraire. Pas d'opposition. Done, adoptee.
Le seconde resolution:
(Trandation)
Those who are in favor of adopting this resolution will please raise their hands.
{Banit are raieed.) Contrary minded? No opposition. It is a vote.
The second resolution:
Que ceux qui sont d'avis d'adopter cette resolution veuillent bien lever la n
de maint.) Pas d'opposition. Adopts.
Digitized byGoOgIC
■2 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
raruEofMn)
Those who are in fftvor of adopting this resolution wiU pleaae miee their baadB.
(Hand* art raistd.) No opposition. Adopted,
Third:
Que oeux qui aont d'avia d'adopter oette resolution yeuiUemt bien lever la main. (LaiM
da ffioJM.) Paa d'oppoaition. Adopts.
Those who ore in favor of adapting this resolution will please raise tLeir hands.
{Handt an. raited.) No opposition. Adopted.
H. le President: Je doia vouh faire connaltre que pour ^puiser notre ordie du jour, it
nous reete troia questions & examiner; nous avons rieervi la question dee refonnes poetaks et
il r a les questions 7 et 8. fividenmient, si nous sommcs certains de pouvoir lee examiner dans
la session de demain matin, & partir de dix heures, nous pounons terminer noe travaux de-
main dans la matin6e, vers une heure; mais si nous devons singer dans I'aprte-midi, eette
Bslle-ci ne sera plus disponible et nous devrons singer it la Public Library, en face de oet HAl^
Je pense que le mieux est de continuer la discussion aujourd'hui — il est 4 heures 15 — nous
pourrona dans oee coiiditions-l& terminer demain.
(Trantlalvm)
I must call your attention 4« the fact that to complete our order of the day tbeie
remain three questions to be discussed; we have postponed the question of postal re-
forms and there are also questions 7 and 8. Of coutse if we are oerlain of being able
to discuss them in the morning session to-morrow, to start from tot o'clock, we oould
finish our woric to-morrow in the morning towards one o'clock; but if we must have a
session in the afternoon, this hall will not be available and we will have to hold tiw
session at the Public Library opposite this hotel. 1 think that the best way is to oon-
tinue the discussion to-day — it ia a quarter past four — and we can under those cir-
cumstances finish to-morrow.
H. Shonlnger: Je vous ferai remarquer, monsieur le president, que la question que
vous avez mise au vote n'ftait indiqu^e que pour demain matin, et qu'il y a plusieun dUb-
gu£s qui ne sont pss pr^pat^ pour parler aujourd'hui sur cette question, tandis que la ques-
tion de la r^orme poetale ^tait indiqu^ pour aujourd'hui.
(Tranilalion)
I will call your attention, Mr. President, to the fact that the question which you have
put to vote was asngned for to-morrow morning, and that there are several delegates
who are not prepared to apeak upon it to-day, since the question of postal reform was
assigned for to-day.
M. le President: Cette question, d'accord avec le rapporteur et certains orateun, a eii
remise il jeudi; elle dtoit primitivenient indiqu^ pour aujourd'hui. Voici oe que je toos
propoeeraia: que demain matin nous commencions nos travaux & diz heures pr^i^sea, et que
nous lee continuous jusqu'^ une heure, a'il le faut. Je vous serais trte obUg6 d'eipUquer la
chose k voe amis.
(TramlatMn)
That question, with the consent irf the Reporter and certain speakers, has been post-
poned until Thursday; it was origmally designated for to-day. I would make this sag-
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMEBCE 243
gestion: that to-morrow moising we begin our work at t«n o'clock predael^, and that
we continue until one o'clock, if necessary. I should be greatly obliged if you would
explain the matter to your friends.
(Tmntlation)
The question, I understand, will be atill open to discusBion to-morrow morning?
H. le PiCBidont: Oui. Dans oes conditions-l&, done, nous ajoumons & denuun. Nous
reprendrona noe travaux i, dix heures praises, aveo la bonne volenti de lea continuer juBqu'&
U fin, «u beaoin juequ'^ ime heure, de maniire k ne pas avoir de session dans rapris-midi.
(Tnmtloftim)
Yes. Under these conditions, then, we shall adjourn until to-morrow. We will resume
OUT proceedings at 10 o'olook precisely, with the intentiou of continuing if neceesary
until 1 o'clodc, in order not to have a session in tlte aftenioon.
H. Shooinger: Si voua me le permettes, je dirai que pour gagner un peu de temps de-
main matin, nous pourritma commencer par la question qui n'est pas tennln6e. Comme
cela, nous aurans aauvegaid^ les int^ts de tout le monde.
(,Traiulalion)
If you will permit me, I will suggest that in order to gain a little time to-morrow
we might begin with the question which is not concluded. In theA way we shall have
safeguarded the interests of everybody.
The President: Gentlemen, it is well understood that we will begin work to-motrow
morning at just 10 o'clock, in order to go through the three minor points and finish our work,
if possible, by 1 o'clock. The meeting is adjourned.
Adjourned at 4.20 e.tt., to meet on Thursday, September 26, at 10 a.u.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
The Besuon waa called to order at 10.13 A.ii., September 26, 1912, Presidetit Louis
CAHON-LEaRAND in the chair. At the deek, General Secretaiy Ckilk Jotthand, Mr. Alfred
Gborq and Mr. Edvard A. Filens.
Prosident Cuion-L«gnuid
Messieurs, la stance est ouverte. M. Lazard demande la parole sur une queaticMi d'ordre.
(Trmtdalion)
Gentlemen, the Bession is opened. Mr. Laxard asks for the floor aa a question of
order.
Mr. Lonli laztird, Chamber of Commerce, BrueeeU, Beiffiwn
Mr. President and Gentlemen, on behalf of tiie Belgian delegation I want to s^ that we
were very much disappointed in reading this morning in the Boston ptqters that the Belgian
delegates nipport a gentleman who spoke yesterday about arbitration and iaterrupted our
sympathetic Preddent. We want it t« go out that the Belgian delegates to this Congten
are Mr. Paul Hagemans, Consul General of Belgium in the United States, in liiiladelphia;
Mr. Adolphe Charlet, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce of Bniseels; Mr. Leco
ChauBsette of Brussels, Mr. Louis Lazard of Brussels, Mr. Louis Canon-Legrand, our Presi-
dent, Mr. fimile Jottraod, our General Secretary, and Mr. Charles Christopbe from Ghent.
We know no other delegate from Brussels, or from Belgium. We have thought it better
that these few words should be said at the beginning of this morning's session, in order to avoid
any misundenrtanding. We do not want the delegates to think tliat we supported the gm-
tleman who spoke yesterday and who ia not known to the Belgian delegation. (Applauae.)
Mr. Edward A. F&ene, Viee-Prendenl, at this point read a lett«r from Mr. Edwin D.
Mead stating his position in the matter.
utternatioival postal reforms in view of tee next con-
FBRENCE OF THE UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION IN 1913
H. le Priaident: L'incident est clos. Nous abocdons maintenant notre ordre du jour.
Nous avona & parier des r^ormefl postalea Internationales en vue de la prochaine conf^renM
de I'Union Postale Universelle. Le rapporteur est M. Georg. Je tieoa i, r#p£t«r, meeeieuis,
que si cette question a m remise it la s&ince de ce matin, c'est & la demands du Postmaster
General des fitato-Unis, et non pas parce que M. Geoi% n'itait pas pr6t k donner lecture de
eon rapport auasitAt qu'on I'aurait voulu.
ITraruiation)
The incident ia closed. We now take up the order of the day. We have to speak (^
int«mational postal refonns in view of the next conference of the Universal Postal Unioo.
The Reporter ia Mr. Georg. I wish to repeat that if this question has been postpootd
to this morning's session, it ia becauae of the request of the Postmaster-General of the
United States, and not because Mr. Georg waa unprepared to read us his report when ii
was wanted.
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 245
Ur. Alfred Geors, Vice-Pittuhnt i>f the Geneva Chambtr of Commerce
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
As 70U have in hand tlie Kngliah translation of the report OQ International Poetal R»-
forcte, I beg leave to say in French, my own language, the few words that I wish to add in
support of the piopoeed refoima.
{ConHnvinB in French)
Mt»ksieuT le prudent et mesBieuiB:
S'il est exact que tuw congrte ont pour t&che d'^tudier les moyens de facilit«r le com-
merce international, voua estimerei avec moi qu'il est superflu de motiver longuement les
propositions de r^orme poatale que voua aves sous lea yeuit, Cea propositions soat en quel-
que sorte la rfeultante des diacusaions, et je puis ajouter, des reclamations qui se sont pro-
duites depuis un certain nombre d'ann^ea dans le seia des Chambres de commerce, et d'autres
associations aimilairea, de la plupart des pays conunergants de notre globe.
£videmment, ces propositions eont loin de comprendre toutes les demandes qui ont £t6
formul^es k gauche ou i, droite, et je comprendrsis fort bien que I'un ou I'autre d'entre vous
d£aitlt completer la liste des postulats exprimSs dans la conclusion du rapport; m&is, mee-
meura, dans un domaine ausai vasto que celui des relations postales intemationales, il faut
Bsvoir se restreindre, en se disant qu'k chaque jour suffit aa peine, et qu'ici comme ailleuts,
il convient de proc£der par itapea. Qui trop embrasse mul ^treint.
D'autres trouveront peutr^tre— et j'ai diik entendu exprimer ioi cett« opinion — que
nous demandoua trop k la fois. A ceux-lJL je r^pondrai que, sans manquer de modestie, nous .
pouvons et nous devons demauder aux Etate de I'Union Postale Universelle de r^aliser des
rdfoimes dont la n^cessit^ n'eat plus contestable.
Les d£l^£s au prochain congrds poatal universel, repr^sentants des administrations
postales et du fisc de leur pays, objecteront que la plupart de aos demandee auront pour
cons^uence des diminutions de recettes auxquelles ils ne peuvent souscrire; mais k ces pr^
occupations d'ordre financier, nous opposons et noua continuerons d'oppoaer les beaoins du
commerce et de I'industrie, dont la poBt« est I'instrument et le v^hicule le plus indispensable.
Et nous pouvona ajouter que cea apprthensiona fiscalea — I'exp&ience de toua les paya I'a
monti^ — ne aont pas juatifi^es, ou tout au moina aont fort exag^r^ea. Plaie d'ai^ent n'est
pas mortelle, et un nouveau dSveloppement des afiairea, consequence cettaine de I'adoption
des reformee que nous demandons, viendra r^idement combler les diminutions de recettes
que redaut«nt lea repr6sentants du fisc.
Ceci dit, je passe aux questions ^ciales qui font I'objet du rapport.
Si la prudence eat d'accoid, nous pourrions, en vue de faciliter les debate et lea decisions
finales, prendre I'une aprte I'autre lea propositiona foimuieee. Chacune d'eUee n'exigera que
quelques brefs commentaires.
iTran^ation)
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
If it is a fact that the task of our Congress is to study means of facilitating inter-
national coomierce, you will agree with me that it ia superfiuoue to argue at length
the propoaala for postal reforms which you have before you. These proposals are to
some extent the outcome of debates, and 1 may add also, of complaints which have
made their appearance frcnn time to time among the chambers of commerce and other
similar associationa of most of the commercial countries of the world.
Clearly, these proposals are far from comprising all the demands which have been
made from various directions, and I understand very well that some of you will wish to
add to the list of suggestions formulated at the conclusion of the report; but, gentlemen,
in a subject aa wide aa that of international postal relations we must exercise some
restraint, and be as patient as possible, since here, as elsewhere, it will be easier to ad-
vance by stages. Who tries too much, succeeds poorly.
Digitized byGoOgIC
6 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Othera may poaaibly coiuider — and I have alreculy heaid the opinioD expressed —
that we are asking too much at a time. To these I would re{^, with all due modesty,
that we can and we should demand of the States of the Universal Postal Union the
realisation of the lefonns whose necessity is no longer debatable.
The delegates to the approaching Universal Postal Union repreaenting the postal
and financial departments of their countries will object that most of our demands will
have as a reeult a reduction of receipts to which they cannot consent; but to these
financial coneiderationB we oppose and we ah^ continue to oppose the needs of commerce
and industry, of which the postal service is the most indispensable vehicle. And we may
add that these apprehensions on the score of finance — the experience of all countries
has demonstrated it — are not justified, or are at least much exaggerated. A wound in
the pccketbook is not mortal, and the further development of business, the certain result
of the adoption of the reforms which we ask, will speedily offset the diminished leoeipta
which are feared by the representatives of the treasury.
After saying this I will now pass to the special questions which are the object of the
report.
If the Chair is willing, we might in order to faciUtate debate and final deciaon,
take up the drafts of the resolutions one by one. Each of them will require but a few brief
H. le ftfiaident: M. Georg, toub pourries pour chaque proposititm donner lecture
dans lee troia langues.
iTrambiHon)
Mr. Geoi^, you may be able to give a reading of each of the proposed resolutions
in the three languages.
M. Gooic; Meaedeuis, pour la question No. 1, et en me r^^rant aux explications qui se
trouvent aux pities 5 et 6 du rapport, actuellement, en vertu de la convention postale univei^
selle No. 1, la taxe de transport eat de 2S centimes, ou leur Equivalent, pour la lettre juaqu'i
20 grammes, avec supplement de 15 centimes pour chaque poids ou fraction de poids de 20
grammes. Or, le commerce demande une taxe uniforme de 10 centimes, soit, la taze pay^
dans le trafic interne pour le mSme poids ou suppltoient de poids dans touts I'^tendue de
I'Union Postale, I'impAt £tant calculi d'aprto le eyetdme m^trique.
Voua savei que la lettre & 10 centimes — 2 cents, 1 penny, 10 pfennigs, etc. — a d^jjl 6t&
adopts, pour une partie importante du trafic international et intercontinental, par la Grande
Bretagne, par I'Allemagne, par I'ltalie; sa g^^ralisation contribuerait & donner i. ce trafic
un puissant essor, favorable i I'extension des relations commercialee.
Je vous propose done d'^mettre le voeu qui porte le No. 1 dans la conclusion du rapport.
J'en donne lecture:
I. La taxe 6x6 par la conveution poatale universelle pour le transport des lettree seta
abaisste de 26 centimes i 10 centimes, aoit & la taxe d'affranchissement du service int^eur.
Cette taxe d'affranchiasement sera per^e par poids ou fraction de poids de 20 grammes dans
toute retendue de I'Union Poatale, le poids ^tant calculi d'aprte le Hystime m6trique.
(Translaiion)
Gentlemen, in regard to question No. 1 and referring to the explanations on pages 5
and 6 of the report I would say that at the present time, by virtue of Universal Postal
(^reement No. I, the rate of postage is 25 centimes or its equivalent for a letter up to
20 grams in weight with an addition of 15 centimes for each 20 grams or fraction
thereof. Commerce, however, requests a uniform rate of 10 centimes; in other words,
the rate paid for domestic postage for the same weight or additional wei^t throu^iout
the extent of the Postal Union, the tariff to be based according to the metric syeton.
You know that the letter rate of 10 centimes — 2 cents, 1 penny, 10 pfeimig, and
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 247
K> toTth — has Already been adapted for an importfint portion of mtemational and
intei^^ontineDtal cmmnunicstioiia, by Great Britain, G«niisny, Italy, etc, I\e gener-
alisation would suffice to give a decided impulse to this traffic to the advantage of the ex-
tension of conuneretal relations.
I therefore propose to pass the motion which is marked No, 1 at the conclusion of
the report, and which I will now read;
1. The rate fixed by the Univeraal Postal Convention for the carriage of letters shall
be reduced from 25 centnnes to 10 centimes, that ia, to the tariff rate for domestic postage.
This tariff rat« shall be collected by the weight or fraction of the weight of 20 Erams
throughout the extent of the Poet^ Union, the weight being calculated by the metric
H. 1« PrSaideat: Devons-nous, messieun, faire la discuasion aur ce point mainl«iant, ou
aller jusqu'au bout et prendre le vote aprte? Je vous consulte but ce point. 11 est prtf^rable
d'aller jusqu'au bout, et nous reprendrons les points.
(Trtmalofton)
Gentlemen, shall we debate on this point now or continue to the end and vote
afterwards? I beg to consult the meeting. It is preferable to continue to the end and
we will go on with the itema.
H. G«org; Je prends la question 2. Vous savez, monsieur le president et messieurs, que
phuieuis dee fitata sigiuitaires de la convention postale universelle de 1906 ant, au b£n6fice
du chiffre III du protooole final de cette convention, conserve les limitea de poids et lea taie«
de la pr^c^dente convention postale de Washington. H serait & d^sirer que ces Etata renon-
cent 4 cette prerogative, et c 'eat pourquoi nous avona formula le deuziime vceu coounesuit;
2. Lee Gtats signataiies de la convention postale universelle de 1900, qui, au b&i^ee du
chiffre 111 du protooole final de cette convention, ont conserve les limitea de poida et lea taxes
de la COQventiou poetale pr^cMente, renonceront k ce regime d'exception.
Nous paasons au No. 3. II s'agit ici de la surtaxe en cas d'abeence ou d'inmifflsance d'af-
franchisaement. L'article 5 de la convention universelle principale fixe au double de la taxe
d'aSranchiasement la surtaxe k payer par le destinataire des lettres et des cartes postalea uon
affranchies qui lui ont 6t6 adreas^es. E^ cas d'insuffisance, la surtaxe est fix£e au double de
cette insuffisance.
L'^l^vation de cette surtaxe lui donne le caroctiie d'une veritable amende, qui est d'au-
tant moins justifiie que cette amende frappe le destinataire de la lettre, qui n'est, en aucun
caa, fautif, si faute il y a. Nous savons d'ailleurs que le travail suppl^mentaire de la poste
pour les envois de cette nature serait largement iitribu£ par une taxe beaucoup plus rfiduite,
et c'est pour cela que nous avons formula, sous le chiffre 111, la proposition euivante:
3. Dans le trafic international, la surtaxe perdue par la poste pour absence ou insuffiaance
d'affranchissement des objete de la poste aux lettree sera fix£e unifoim^ent & 5 centimes.
Nous passons au No. 4: Remise au destinataire des lettres de provenance ^trangira.
MeesieurB, cette proposition a pu ^tonuer quelques-uns d'entre vous. II semble naturel
qu'une lettre remise il un Ctat de I'Union Postale par un autre £tat de I'Union Postale eoit
remise par lui au destinataire. Or, on m'a cit£ un cas — et j'ai eu en mains la preuve de
I'exactitude du renseignement qui m'a St^ foumi — on m'a cil^ le cas d'une administration pos-
tale — c'fitait un £tat de I'Europe — qui, recevant d'une autre administration — diaons de
I'Australie — une lettre destinte & un habitant de cet Etat de I'Europe, que je n'indique pas,
a retoumte cette lettre en Australie, ne I'a pas livr^ au destinataire, parce que I'adreeee de
cette lettre se trouvoit sous une fen^tre trausparente dont tee conditions ne r^pondaient paa
exactement aux prescriptions nationales du pays destinataire.
Messieuis, d'autres cas analogues de r^ementation nationals peuvent se produire, et
c'est pour cela que noiia croyona absolument nficessoire de fixer cette rigle, k savoir, qu'une
Digitized byGoOgIC
248 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
lettre que I'lm des £;tats de rUaion Postale remet i un autre Ctat de rUmon doit 6tre naiat
au destinataire, quelle que aoit I'apparence ext^rieure de oette lettre. II est bien eutendu que
I'appareace ext^eure de U lettre ne doit pas Ctre coatraire aux bonnes mcEurs et k I'wdie
public; mais en detora de ces exceptions, toute lettre remise k un £ltat de I'Union Postale par
un autre £!tat doit Stre remise au deatinataire. C'est pour ceU que nous avons formula la
proposition suivante:
4. Lea administrations postales des fitats de I'Union univeraelle FMnettront k leura dee-
tinataires toutes les lettres lenntee qui leur parviennent de I'^tranger, alore mbne que 1'^)-
paience ext^iieure de ces lettres ne serait pas conforme k la r^ementation postale dn pays
oe destination.
Nous paaeons maintenant aux £chantillons de marchandises. La convention postale uni-
Tereelle dispose que les ^chantiltons de marchandises ne doivent pas d^passer le poids de 350
grammes et ne doivent pas avoir une valeur marchande. Messieure, en pr^voyant une ta:K
de transport r^uite pour les ^hantillons de marchandises, on avoit I'intention de favoriser
le trafic de cette categoric d'envoi; mais la condition spteiale k laquelle est life la nkluction
de la taxe rend illusoire cette facility dans des cas tiis nombreux. La plupart des fehantilltms
ont, £videmment, une valeur marehande, si minime eoit-elle, et le terme "valeur marchande"
est tellement flastique que, n^cessairement, il a donnfi lieu h dea interpretations fort difffi-
rentea dans les fitats de I'Union, et il en rteulte des difficult^ et des complications que nous
Toulons chercher k faire disparattre.
Ce n'est pas, disons-nous, I'absence de vaJeur, mais c'est la limitation de poids qui doit
etablir la distinction n&iessaire entre cette categoric d'envois et les colis qui aout soumis sux
taxes et aux formality douani^rea.
Dans la plupart des pays, le commerce estime d'aiUeuiB insuffisante la limite octuelle de
3S0 grammes, et le congrte des Chambres de commerce t^ptondrait k un vteu gSndral «n de~
mandant I'^l^vation k 500 grammes de cette limite. Cette augmentation de poids pooirait
6tre accordfe d'autant plus facilement que dans certains pays les colis ne d^assant pas le
poids de 500 grammes sont d^j^ actuellement exon£r£s des droits de douane. H en eat ainsi
dans mon paj^, la Suisse, entr'autres. Je vous propose par consequent d'adi^ter les con-
cluMons Buivantes:
5. La disposition de I'article 5£ de la Convention postale universelle I, disant que les
6chantillons de marchandises ne doivent pas avoir de valeur marchande, sera rapport^e. Ia
limite de poids des ^chontillons sera elevSe k 500 grammes.
Nous arrivons k la question des colis postaux. La Convention postale universelle IV
fixe i, 5 kilogrammes la limite de poids des colis postaux. Le commerce international demonde
dans ce domaine de nouvelles facilit^s, d^jk crepes dons les relations postales entre certains
pays. II conviendrait de fixer k 10 kilogrammes — c'est la limite actuelle E4>piiquee par les
pays dont je parle — la limite de poids, tout en admettant pour les pays dont la legislation
int^rieure n'admet pas le transport de colis supedeure k un poids de 5 kilogrammes le droit de
mointenir la limite de 5 kilogrammes.
La limite du poids de 10 kilogrammes etant ainsi devenue la rigle g^nerole, il convien-
drait de cr^er une cat^gorie speciale de colis postaux aco^erte d'un poids maTimum de 1
kilogranuue, et qui, moyennont une taxe speciale, seraient transport's par voie rapide. On
donneroit ainsi satisfaction k un vceu general du commerce tendant au transport par la poete
aux lettres d'^chantillons allant jusqu'au poids d'un kilo, vceu dont la prise en consideration
s'est heurtfe jusqu'& ce jour k des objections d'ordre douanier. Ces objections ne seraient
pas opposables k I'innovation projetee des colis postaux de 1 kilo, qui resteraient soumis,
eux, au contrAle douanier.
Je vous propose par consequent d' adopter le v<eu suivant:
7. La convention universelle etablira une categoric speciale de colis postaux d'un poids
maximum de 1 kilogramme et qui, moyennaot une taxe speciale, seront transportee par voie
acceieree.
„Google
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 249
NouB BnivoDB & U question du t«tard dee coUb poBtaux. Messieurs, alots que la con'
vention universeUe concemaot r^change des colia poetaux assure ces colis dans une mesure
pt^eise, ddtennjii^, centre la perte, contra la Bpoliatkm et contre I'avarie, cette m&ne con-
vention ne contient aucune disposition engageant la responsabilit€ des administrations en
cas de retard dc livraison des colis postaux. Le retard n'engage la responsabilit4 du trans-
porteur que pour autant que le colis est consid^rt conune perdu, c'est-ft-dire au tenne d'une
aim^ seulement aprto la reclamation pour cauae de retard.
Mesrieurs, le commerce international souffre de cette lacune. On r^aliserait done un
grand pir^rte en admettant un tenne raisonnable au del& duquel la responsabilit€ des ad-
ministratious serait engages. Le d^Iai pourrait dtre different selou la distance, et particu-
li^rement si le pays de destinatioa est un pays d'outremer. A la rigueur, on pourrait, comme
il est indiqu^ dans le rai^rt, pr^lever ime modeate aurtaxe qui aerait perQue de I'exp^teur
qui a un int&6t special k ce que la marchandise arrive en temps voulu. Mais, messieurs, il
paralt absolument anormal et inadmissible qu'un dommage, qui peut Stre trte considerable
pour I'exp^teur ou le destinataire d'un colis postal, dommage resultant d'un retard conai-
durable dans la livraison, n'engage en aucune mani^re la responsabilit^ des administrations
Nous voufl proposons par consequent d'adopter le vtcu auivant:
8. La coaventba postale univerMlle imposera aux Etate de I'Union un deiai de lirraiaon
raisonnable des colis poataux, different eelon lea pays de destination, et au del& duquel la reo-
ponaabOite dea administrations poetales sera engag^e.
MessieuiB, apr^s la publication de ce rapport, il y a quelque tempa d6ja, il m'a €16 de-
mands de completer cea vceux par quatrea autrea demandes, que je vais vous indiquer et
motiver briivement.
Lee vceux qui m'ont ete transmis emanent de I'TJnioD des Chambrea de commerce alle-
mandes, et en partie de la Cfaambre de commerce de Prancfort. Je tiens k ajouter que les
demandes qui out et£ formyl^es de ces cOt^s, je les consid^re, en ce qui me conoeme, comme
entidrement acceptablea, et je dfeire vivement que le congr^ veuille bien y donner son assen-
timent.
II e'agit d'abord de I'aSranchissement dee papiers d'affaires. Comme vous le savei, la
convention universeUe prSvoit un aSrancbissement de S centimes par 60 grammes pour les
papiers d'affaires, maia en fixant un mininm in de taxe de 25 centimes correspoiulaDt k un poids
de 250 grammes. Or, messieurs, le commerce estime qu'il n'a paa il payer oe m i n i mnm alora
qu'il fait transporter dee pliers d'affaires d'un poids de beaucoup )nf£neur, et il demande la
suppression de cette limitation de poids de 260 grammes et du minimum de taxe de 26 cen-
times, n fotxDule la proposition suivante:
"L'aSranchiseement dea papiers d'affaires sera fix^, conune pour les imprimis, k 5 cen-
times pour cbaque poids ou fraction de poids de 60 grammes — sans aSranchissement minimnm
de 25 centimes?'
Je paaee h la deuxi^e demande qui m'a 6t6 adresaee:
"L'aooeptatton d'envois grevfa de rembooisement sera obllgatMre pour tous les pays de
I'Vnion poetale."
Meseieun, voua saves qu'en t'etat actuel des choaes la convention intemationale permet
aux fitats signataires de la convention d'accepter ou de refuaer lee envois grev^s de rem-
bouieement, et egalement de fixer la limite de la valeur des remboursemente. Nous de-
mandons que dans tous lee cas, I'acception d'envois grev^s de remboureement soit obligatoire
pour tous les £tat6 de t'Unioa.
L'ftvant-demidre pn^Kwdtion est la suivante:
" La poete est responsable pour lea envois greves de remboursement dont cite s'est dessaisie
sans perception du montant du remboureement."
Digitized byGoOgIC
250 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Meiaeura, beaucoup d'entre voub ignorant abaolument que dans le trafic intematJcniBl,
lonqu'une adnunietratkm a accepts un envoi grev# d'un remboursement et qu'elle a livti
cet envoi sane se faira payer, pour tout ou partie de la valeur du reinboureemeat, ell« n'est
pas responaable via-ft-vis de I'exp6diteur. C'est 1& ime situation abaolument aoonnale, con-
traire aux principes ^l^mentairea du droit, et nous demandons que lee administrationB qui
ont accepts un envoi gfevi d'un remboursement Boient responsablea juBqu'& concurrence du
montant de ce remboursement.
Enfin, dans la demi^re question, il s'agit dea colia postaux avec valeur d^lar^. Nous
demandons que toutes les administrationB eignataires de la convention coneemant lee colia
postaux soient teaues d'accep(«r lea colia avec valeur dtel&r^.
Je croia que cette proposition n'a paa besoin d'etre motiv£e autrement; il eat Evident que
le commerce international a un grand int^t k ce que cette propoeition soit accepts. Lea
adminiBtrationa aignataires de la convention coneemant lea colia postaux seront tenus d'ac-
cepter les colia avec valeur d^clarfe.
Meeeieurs, j'ai tennini.
iTranskUion)
1 will now take up question 2. As you know, Mr. Preaident and gentlemen, several
of the signatory Statee of tbe Universal Postal Convention of 1906 have by virtue ot
clause III of the final protocol of this convention preserved the weight limits and the
tariffa of the preceding Postal Convention at Washington. It is demrable that these
States give up this privil^e and it is on this account that we have drawn up the second
motion which is as follows:
2. The States subocribing to the Universal Postal Convention of 1906 which, by
virtue of item III of the final protocol of this agreement have retained the limits of wught
and the rates of the preceding poetal agreouent shall renounce thia exceptional practice.
We will now paaa to No. 3. The question is here of the additional charge in the
cose of lack of postage, or inaufficient prepayment of postage. Article 5 of the main
univeraal convention fixea Ibe extra chaige to be paid by the addreeaee of letters and
postal cards upon which postage has not been prepaid at double the tariff rate. In
case of insufficient postage the extra charge is fixed at double the deficiency.
The high rate of Uiis extra charge gives it actually the character of a fine which is
moreover the less justifiable since it falls upon the adressee of the letter, who is not to
blame if there ia any blame. We know, moreover, that the extra work occasioned to the
Post-Office Department by postal matter of this description would be well compensated
by a far lower charge, and for this reason we have formulated under item III the follow-
ing motion:
at 5 centimes.
Thia brings us to No. 4. The delivery to the addressee of letters of foreign origin.
Gentlemen, this proposal may astonish some of you. It spears natural that a letter
delivered to a State ot the Postal Union by another State of ihe Postal Union should be
delivered by the former to the addressee. However, a case has been cit«d to me — and
I have had in my hands the proof of the correctneaa of the information — where a
Postal Department of one of the European countries which received from another de-
partment, for instance, Australia, a letter intended for a resident of thia European
country which I will not name, has returned this letter to Australia, and baa not
delivered it lo the addressee, because the address of the letter happened to be under a
transparent window so that the conditions did not exactly conform to the national regu-
lations of the countiy of destination.
Gentlemen, other analc^ous cases of domestic regulations might occur, and it ia for
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 251
thftt leaaon that we consider it absolutely neceasuy to cite this rule, vii., that a letter
from one of the States of the Postal Unkm forwardnl to another State of the Union must
be delivered to the addressee, regardless of the exterior appearance of this letter. It
is of course understood that the exterior appearance of the letter must not be contrarjr
to good morala or public order; but with these exceptions every letter debvered to one
Stat« d the Postal Union by another State of the Poetal Uuiou must be delivered to the
It is for this reason that we have proposed the following:
We will now come to the subject of merchandise samples. The Universal Postal
Convention No. I provides that samples of merchandise may not exceed the weight of 350
grama and must not have a merchantable value. Gentlemen, in permitting a reduced
rate for the transportation of asmples of merchandise the intention was to favor this
traffic; but the special condition with which this reduction of tariff was linked has ren-
dered its benefits illusory in many cases. It is clear that the majority of samples must
have a merchantable value, even though small, and the term "merchantable value" is so
elastic that it has, necessarily, given rise to very varying interpretations in the different
States of the Union, resulting in difficulties and complications whioh we desire to abolidi.
In our judgment, it is not the abeence of value, but the limitation of weight, which
should establish the distinction between this claas of package and the shipments which
are subject to customs duties and formalities.
In most countries the business world considers the present weight limit of 350 grama
to be insufficient and the Congress of Chambers of Commerce will respond to a general
wish in demanding the raising of this limit to 500 grams. This increase of weight might
be permitted the more easily since in some countries packages not exceeding 500 grams
in weight are already exempt from customs duties. It is thus in my own oouittry,
Switcerland, for instance. I therefore ask you to adopt the following resolution:
5. The provision of article 55 of the Univenal Poetal Conventitm I, reading that'
samples of merchandise must have no merchantable value, shall "be repealed. The limit
of weight for samples shaJl be raised to 500 grams.
This brings us to the question of postal parcels. Univetsal Postal Convention IV
fixes the limit of weight for postal parcels at 5 kilograms. International buuness asks
in this respect increased facilities, already provided by the postal airangements between
certain countries. It would be satisfactory to fix this limit of weight at 10 kilograms
— this is the limit at present allowed by the countries to which I refer — while per-
mitting countries whose interior regulations do not permit the transportation of packages
exceeding 5 Icilograms to retain the limit of 5 kilograms.
The limit of weight of 10 kilograms having become the general rule, it would be de-
sirable to creat« a special classification of express postal parcels, with a maximum
weight of 1 kilogram, which, in consideration of a special rate, should be carried by a
quicker way. This would satisfy a general desire of the business world for the carriage
by letter post of samples up to the weight of 1 kilogram, a desire the consideration
of which has up to now been hindered by objections arimng out of the customs arrange-
ments. These objections would not tie against the proposed innovation of postal
packages of 1 kilogram which would themselves remain subject to the customs
regulations.
I therefore suggest the adoption of the following motion:
7. The Universal Convention shall establish a special cate^ry of postal parcels of
amaximum weight of 1 kilogram which, in oonsideratirai of a special rate, shall be shipped
by a more r^>id route.
Digitized byGoOgIC
»2 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
We now come to the question of delay in deliveij of poetal p&reels. While the Uui-
veraal Convention regarding the interchange of postal parcels insuras these parcels to
a definite, fixed extent, against loss, theft and damage, this same convention contains
no provision, pledging the reqmnsibility of the poettd departmenta in case of delay in
the delivery of postal parceb. A delay only renders the carrier liable when the package
is considered as lost, that is, after the period of one year from the filing of the claim for
delay.
Gentlonen, international commerce suSeis from this omission. A great advance
would be accomplished by providing a reasonable term beyond which the postal ad-
ministration would become responsible. The term might be varied according to the
distance, particularly if the country of destination is across the sea. If necessary, as
pointed out in the report, a reasonable extra charge might be levied on the sender who
is particularly interested to have his goods arrive at the desired time. But, gentlemen,
it seems entirely abnormal and inadmissible that a loss, which might be quite consider-
able to the sender or consignee of a postal parcel, a loss resulting from a coosidersble
delay in deUveiy, should not in any way involve the reqmnsibility of the postal de-
partments.
We therefore propose for adoption the following resolution:
8. The Universal Postal Convention shall impose on the States of the Union & rea-
sonable period for the delivery of postal i)arcel8, varying aocordinx to the country of des-
tination, beyond which the postal administration shall be reaponsmle.
After the pubUcation of this report, which ia now some time since, 1 have been
asked to complete these resolutions by the addition of four other demands, which I
shall briefly state and explain.
The resolutions which were sent to me emanate from the German Umon <rf
Chambers of Commerce, and in part from the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce. I
wish to add that the requests formulated by these bodies appear to me, as far as I am
concerned, to be entirely acceptable, and I desire sincerely that the Congreffi may see
fit to lend its approval.
These refer first to the mailii^ of business peters. As you know, the Universal
Convention provides a carriage of 5 centimes for 50 grams for business ptfreie, but fixes
a minimum charge of 26 centimes, corresponding to a weight of 250 grams. Now,
gentlemen, business men consider that they should not have to pay this m'P'mum rate
when sending business p^)ers of a much lower weight, and desire the abolition of this
limitation of weight of 250 grams and of the mmimiini charge of 25 oeatimee. Tbey
word the proposal as follows:
ners should be fixed, as for minted mattj,_,
I will now proceed to the second demand which was sent to me:
Gentlemen, under the present conditions, the International Convention pennita the
fflgnatoiy States to accept or refuse packages for coUection on delivery, and likewise
to set a limit of value for such collections. We ask that in all cases the acoeptanoe of
packages for collection on delivery sh^ be obligatory for all the States of the Union.
The last proposal but one is the following:
"The Postal Department is respMiuble for parcels sent for collection on deUveiy and
which it has delivered without collection of the amount of the charge."
Gentlemen, many of you are not aware that in international traffic where a dqiart-
ment has accepted a pan»l for collection on delivery and has delivered this package
„Google
CBAMBERS OF COMMMERCE 253
without obtaining payment of the whole or part of the value of the charge, it is not
responsible to the sender. This is an entirely abnormal situation, contrary to elemen-
tary principles of lav, and we demand that department which have accepted a parcel
chaiged for collection shaU be responsible until the return of the amount of the
collection.
Finally, the last questitm refers to postal packages with a declared value. We re-
quest that all the administrationa who signed the convention be held to accept such
packages with a declared value.
I believe that this proposal does not need any further }Ust[fication: It is evident
that international commerce would be greatly interested to have this suggestioa
adopted. The administrations which signed the convention relative to postal parcels
should be held to accept these packages with a declared value.
That is all, gentlemen.
U. 1« IMsident: M. Brett n'est pas ici7 Nous avions remis la question k aujourd'hui
afin du tuj donner Toccasion de parler sur le sujet. 11 n'est pas ici, nous allona paaser.
Nous avons une court« lettre k lire d'un d£l£gu£ de la Havone:
(Trantlation)
Mr. Brett is not here? We hod postponed the subject to to-d^ in order to
afford him on opportunity to be heard. As he is not here, we will proceed.
We have a short letter to read from a delegate from Havana:
MoNBmoB CANON-LxaBAin),
I^eeidoit of the Congress.
Dear Sir: In behalf of the Chamber of Commerce of Havana, Island of Cuba, we offer
our hearty support to the reform propositions of Dr. Georg in his able paper, and we wish
especiallj' to emphasize the recommendation of this Congress to the Postal Confess to be held
in Madnd in 1913 for the "Extension of domestic rates of postage on first-class matter to in-
ternational correspondence within the Postal Union," such extension to begin it possible by
the first of Janua^, 1915.
Respectfully submitted,
J. M. Andbbiki,
Carlos Arnoldson,
DeUf/aiet Chamber of Commene
Hanana, Cvba.
M. le Prtaident: M. Manxs est inscrit, je lui donne la parole. Je prie les orateurs
d'etre auasi courts que poaeible et de bomer leur temps de parole i, cinq minutes. (^ppUm-
(Trantialion)
Mr. MAma is registered and I ^e him tiie floor. I would aak tlie speakera to
be as brief as poaaible and to limit th^ speeches to five miout«8. (jlppIouM.)
Hen Kigo HasM, AuociatUm of Export Hovtet, Frankfort-anrlh»-Main
Meine Herrenl Die Postfrage, welche wir heute lu behandeln habea, ist meiner Ansicht
nach eine der wichtigsten, die den intemationalen Handelskommer-KongreB beschfiftigt. Es
ist heutnitage n6tig, daU mun sich einen Techniker anschafft, urn lu atudieren, was die ein-
■elnen Porto-Sfitce in den verschiedenen Staaten sind. Der Zustand, der augenblicklich
herrscbt, besteht seit 37 Jahren. Es hat sich in dieser Zeit sehr viel verftndert, so daC ich don,
was Dr. Georg gesagt hat, vollst&ndig beistiromen kann, um lU bitten, daB der Internationale
EongreQ beechlieBe, daC unter alien Umst&nden das Weltporto eiuheitlich wird. Ich kann
unter keinen Umet&Dden, da uns our fOnf Minuten Redeieit aufgelegt sind, Beispiele anfOlf
ren, die die Unaimehmlichkeit der Versctuedenheit des Fortos lum Ausdruck bringen.
Digitized byGoOgIC
254 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Ich komme nim eu veischiedeDen Antrftgen, die speiiell in dem Faitgnpb 5 enthalten
siod. D& vermisBe ich, dofi der Herr Berichterstatter etwaa eingefOgt h&t, waa eigentlidi
unter alien tJmst&nden gebracht werden mUCte, imd ich mochte Herm Geo^ bitten, vie)-
leicht hiuzuzufUgen, daQ bei Artikel 5 der Internationale KongreQ wQnecht, daS beiQ^icli
der Vereendung von Kliacheea, dieselben nnter alien UmetSnden, da aie keinen Handelswert
besktien, als Muster ohne Wert behandelt werden. Ee ist una bia heute in DeutscUand nicht
gelungen, die deutache Reichspoat dazu lU bringen, daH diese Kliacheea als Muster ohne Wert
veraendet werden. Wir h^>en dadurch die grOBten Schwierigkeiten mit imaeien aualaadi-
achen Kiinden, veil, abgeeehea vom Porto, die Kunden geiwungen aind, auf die Zollimter
lu gehen und die Sendung zu veraoUeo.
(Translation)
Gentlemen, the question of postage which we are treating to-day is in my opinkui
one of the most important which engagea the attention of the International Ccmgrca
of Chambers of Commerce. It ia necessary at the present time to employ an ejqwrt la
study out the postal r^ulationa of the various States. Thia situation has existed for 37
years. There have been many changes in this time so that I can fully agree in Dr.
Georg's piopoaal to ask the International Congress to resolve that the int«niati<ma]
postage ^ould be unifonn in every way. As only five minutes' time is allowed it is
impoaaible for me to quote examples showing the inconveniences resulting from the
variation in postal tariffs.
This brings us to the various motions contained in paragraph 5. It aeema to me
that the esteemed Reporter has omitted on addition which is quite essential, and I
should like to aak Mr. Georg if he will not add to Article 5 that, in relatioa to the
mailing of electrotypes, these should be accepted in all cases for mailing as "sampleH
without value" since they possess no merchantable value. We have not aa yet suc-
ceeded in Germany in persuading the Imperial post^ffice to accept these cuts as
"samples without value." This occasions conaiderable difficulty with our foreign cus-
tomers, since, even regardless of the rate, the customers are obliged to go to the
custom-house and to pay duties.
H. Georg: Je d^aire dire que je suis abaolument d'accord avec I'honorable prtepinant
que aea cliche devraient £tre accepts comme &;hantillon8 sans valeur, mais j'estime qoe
nous ne pouvons pas pr^iser dans la proposition, parce que si noua le faisions but c« point
special, d'autres viendraient imm^diatement avec d'autres categories de produits dcmt k
transport k ban marcbS et dans dea conditions faciles s'impose tout autant que celuiJL Je
crois que nous devona vereer aux dfbats les declarations de I'honorable prtopinant, mais que
noua ne pouvons pas I'introduire dons la proposition que nous avons formulae.
iTrantlation)
I wish to say that I am entirely agreed with the esteemed speaker, tliat his
electros should be accepted as "samples without value," but I feel that we cannot
well state this proposition in detail, because if we should do bo on one special detail,
others would immediately propose other classes of products whose cheap carriage, under
convenient conditions, would be as important as this. I beUeve that we may admit in
our discuaaion the statements of the speaker, but that we cannot introduce it into
the resolution which we have drawn up.
H. le President: Je pense que c'est pr^cis^ent de cette fa^on que nous devtms torn-
sager la discussion. Noua ne eommes pas ici des apecialistes en mati^res postales, nous sommes
des membrea de Chambres de commerce ou d' associations commerciales ou industrielles. H
y aura une reunion de sp^ialistes en mati^ de poete, et il me paralt difficile que, nous, con-
stituis comme nous le sommes, nous discutitots eu detail tons ces points apSciauz. Je eerait
abaolument de I'avis que vient d'&nettre M. Georg de verser tout ceci comme documents
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 255
pour le coagtia epieial qui doit se tenir I'an prochain. Si nous entrions dans la discussion
point par point, nous serions encore ici demain matin. N'est-ce pas votre avis, messieurs?
{A pplawiusemenU. )
(Trantlatitm)
I think this ia exactly the course along which we should direct our discussion. We
are not here as specialista in postal matters; we are members of chambers of commerce
or commercial and industrial associations. There is to be a meeting of specialists in
postal matters, and it seems difficult for us, made up aa we are, to discuss all these
special points. I am entirely of the opinion expressed by Mr. Georg to forward all
these opinions as documents to the special Congress which is to be held next year. If
we enter on the discussion point by point, we should still be here to-morrow morning.
Is this not your opinion, gentlemen? {Applaute.)
H. Uanes: Alois, vous ne permettea pas que je continue?
Crranilatum)
Then, you will not permit me to continue?
H. le ft^aident: Qui, oui; seulement, nous n'adoptemns pas de resolution k cet effet,
Dous verserons ces remarques comme document.
(Tranalalion)
Yes, certainly; but we shall not adopt a resolution to this effect, we wiU record
these remarks as a document. ,
HeiT Hugo Uanes: Meine Herrenl Wir haben hier fenierhin den Paragraphen 6, das
Gewicht der Postpakete betreffend. Das ist eine Sache, die meiner Anaicht nach ebenfalls
dnrchgeftUut werden mufl, nur fehlt hier etwaa, was unseren Eiporteuren manchroal eehr
viel Schaden und UnannehmUchkeiten macht, nAmlioh, das von einigea Staaten eingefiihrte
gam besondere Gr61SenmaO. Es gibt verschiedene Postverwaltungen, die unsere Paatsen'
dui^en refiisieren, wenn die Hdhe oder lAnge auch nur um einige Zentimeter differiert, und
da handelt es sich spesiell um die Sendungen, die bis zu 5 Kilometer gehen. Was ich verlange,
ist, daC der Post-KongreB darauf Obacht gibt, daB diese rigordsen Bestimmungen besiiglich
geringen Unterschieds in den GrOSenmaGen bei den Poetsendungen von der Tagesordnung
verschwinden.
Dann handelt es sich hier noch um erne Fr^e, die ich mr Sprache bringen mdchte, das
ist die Schadenersatipflicht der Fostverwaltung fUr Einschreibeeendungen, die dem Erapf&n-
gerohne Inhalt Qberliefert werden. Im Artikel 8 des Weltpostvertragea heiUt es; ,,Geht eine
Elinschreibesendung verloren, so hat der Abeender, oder auf dessen Verlangen der Empffinger
den Fait hOherer Gewalt auagenommen, Anspruch auf eine Entsch&digung von 50 Franken."
In meiner Praxis ist ea verBchiedene Male und in verschiedenen Lfindem vorgekommen, daQ
kleine GegenstAnde von Waren, die einen bestimmten Wert haben, in registrierten Briefen
geechickt wurden und behauptet wurde, daG diese Briefe ohne Inhalt abgeliefert wurden.
Es fragt sich, ob die Fostverwaltung nicht dafUr verantwortUch ist, daB der Empfanger das
Recht hat, die voUstiindige Sendung zu erhalten. Die deutsche Reichspostverwaltung hat
auf meine Reklamation geantwortet, daC das nicht ginge, und ich mdchte daber den Bericht-
erstatt«r bitten, eine kurze Bemetlcung hinzuzufdgen, daQ die Schadeuersatzpfficht der Post-
rerwaltung fOr derartige Einschreibesendungen in voUem Mafie existiert.
(Translation)
Gentlemen, we now come to paragraph 6 relative to the weight of postal parcels.
This is also a matter which, in my opinion, ought to be carried out, but one detail is
omitted, — a question which has often caused our exporters loss and annoyance, —
namely, the restrictions of some countries regarding dimenuons. There are some
Digitized byGoOgIC
256 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
poBtoffice departments wbo refuB6 our packages should the height or length be only ft
fev centimeters out of the way, and this concenis particulariy the packages of up
to 6 kilc^rams. What I would like would be to have the postal congress take into
consideration the lepeal of these stringent regulations regarding trifling variations in
the dimensions of packages.
Still another question which I would like to mention is the Utility of the postal
service for registered packages which aie delivered to the addressee without their
contents. Article 8 of the International Postal Convention says: "In case of the loee
of a registcTed package the sender or, at his request, the addressee, haa right to claim
comi>ensation up to 50 francs, except in the case of force major." In my experience it
has happened several times and in different countriee, that small articles having a definite
value were mailed as registered packages and it was claimed that these padcages were
delivered minus their contents. The question is whether the poslroffioe department
is not liiU>le to deliver to the addressee ih« entire parcel. The German Imperial Poetal
Department replied to my claim that this was not the case, and I should therefore
like to ask our Reporter if he will not add a short note to the effect that the liability
of the post-office for such roistered packages should cover the entire parcel.
U. le Prtaident: M. SnoNiNaEB a la parole.
(Trandalion)
Mr. SHONiNaBB has the floor.
Hr. Beroaid J. Shoninger, American Chamber of Commerce of Parit
Tlie position of the American Chamber of Commerce of Paris and the experience of its
memben places it particularly well in a position to speak authoritatively cm this subject,
and the delegates for whom I speak can only express admiration for the wonderful care and
study that has been given tliis question by Mr. Georg. And while we thoroughly understaod
the difficulties — because we of the Chamber have asked at different times certain things
from certain governments to facihtat« commercial intercoune, and we know that these ques-
tions are fundamentally part of commercial intercourse and commercial exchange — there-
fore we *.^inif that we should not make the attainment of our ^iimft more difficult by ^^^^^iTlg
to the already large number of proposals that are embodied in these eight propositions. We
therefore heartily teoommend to all the members of the Congreee to endorse and adopt unani-
mously the propositions as proposed, without any further modification. (AppIauM.)
Th« Praddent: The next speaker on my list is Mr. Kent.
Ur. A. B«rton Kent, London CAam6er of Commerce
I will take but half a minute, as we are all, I feel absolutely sure, in accord with the prop-
ositions presented by Dr. Georg. But I thought it might be of interest to tell you that I
was dining at the aimual baitquet of the French Chamber of Commerce in London the other
day, when a high functionary of the postal telegr^h at Paris was present, also Mr. Samuel,
the Postmaster-General of England. Naturally, one of the subjects of discussion was the
reduction of the rate of postage on letters between England and France, and the Frenchmen
hoped that we should get this rate of 10 oentimes for 20 grams between England and
fiance alone. I very much r^ret to say that the English Postmaster-Qeneral pointed out
that even between France and En^and that would involve the ^'^g''"*' government in a loss
of about £300,000 — I think that is 11,500,000 — and we could not afford it. 1 was surprised
and shocked to hear it when I believe that his department makes a prt^t of four millions
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 257
ateriing a jrear. Tliat is only to point out to you that though we m<ut all be agreed on these
questions, I am afraid there is not much hope of their being accepted by all other nations
when poor little England cannot ofToid it. {Laughter.)
H. le Pr^Bideiit: J'ai encore deux orateura inacrite, et pour ne paa prolonger le ddbat, je
Tous propoee de dore le ngmbre dee orateurs, (Applaudiitemtnlt.) Je n'en admettrai plus.
{TTamlaiion)
I have still two epeeJcen registered, and is order not to prolong the debst«, I
would suggest the closing of the number of speakers. (Applauae.) I shall not admit any
others.
M. Eduabdo Agusti, of Barcelona.
U. Eduardtt Agnsti, Chamber of Commerce of BarceUma, Spain
Monaieur le President, messieurs, je viens apporter mon petit grain de sable k ce con*
grte. Je suia venu ici plein de bomte volenti et si . . .
(Tnm^ation)
Mr. Preaident, Gentlemen, I wish to add my little grain of sand to the Congress. I
have come here full of good will and if . . .
M. 1« Prfsident: A la question.
{Tratulation)
To the question.
H. Agtuti: Je dMre done ^ettre trois vceux: 1'un d'eux est peut-Atre compris dans la
premiere propoeition du rapport de M. Georg- Si la proposition No. 1 de M. Georg n'est
pae adopts, ikous pourrions peut-itre du moins adopter celle-ci.
(Traiutalian)
I desire therefore to offer three reeolutions: one of them is perhaps covered by
the first proposition of Mr. Georg's report. If resolution No. 1 of Mr. Georg is not
adopted, we might possibly at leaet adopt the one which I offer.
M. le Prfsideat: Nous ne voterona pas sur les points s^par^e.
{Trandation)
We cannot vote on single items.
H. Agnstl: Premiirement, ^tendre aux pays limitrophee les taxes du pays propre.
Secondement, que les cartes postalea que Ton vend dans les debits publics soient veikdues
avee le timbre dessus, de sorte que I'on n'ait qu'& €crire la carte postale et la mettre & la
poete.
Troisidmement, que les timbres, dans tous lee pays de I'union postale universelle, soient
interchangeables.
ITnmdatioii)
First, to extend to nei^iboring countries the postal tariff of the country itself.
Second, that the postal cards sold by vendors generally may be sold with the stamp
)re<m, so that one would only have to write on the card and mail it.
Third, that postage stamps should be interchangeable throughout the countries of
the UniverBal Postal Union.
Digitized byGoOgIC
>8 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
H. I* Pr<8ld«nt: M. le Dr. Almeida & la parole.
Dr. Candido de Hendes de Almeida, Ddegait oS th» Gooemment o} BntU
Messieurs, je suis charge par I'Uiuoti des conseillerH de raaa pays de lea n
line chose qui int^resse toute les Chambres de commerce du monde. Je saie que je ae peux
pas fairs des amendementa, je ne veux faire que des vceux.
{TTanalation)
Gentlemen, I am aaked by the Uuion of Councillors of my country to repreaent than
in a matter which intereata all the chambers of commerce of the woiid. 1 know that I
am Dot allowed to make amendmenta. I only wish to express some wishes.
H. le President: Qui eeront d£p>os^ comme documentsT
le documentsT
Dr. Almeida: Oui, c'est cela. Alore le d^sir est que la franchise postale aoit donnfie k
t«ut«8 les publications officielles des Chambres de commerce, des F6d6rationB commerciaks,
des bulletins, d^partemente officiels et statistiques commerciales, de fa^on que ces publica-
tions puissent passer d'un pays A I'autre avec la franchise postale integrate.
(TTandaHon)
Yes, that's it. The wish is then that the postal fraoohise be given to all o£Bcial
pubbcations of the chambers of commerce, of commercial federations, bulletins, official
departments and commercial statistics, bd that these publications may go from one coun-
tiy to another with complete postal franchise.
H. I« PcSsident: Vous pouves le demander. Je doute fort que toub robteniei.
(rrondarttm)
You may aak that. I have ettong doubta if you will get it.
Dr. Almdda: Cert le vceu. C'est I'int^rM de tous lee pays d'avoir toua ces nnaeigae-
ments. Alore le voeu est seulement que ces communications-lA soient pr^sent^ jk la convot-
tion postale ainsi que toutes les publications officielles des Federations commerciales, de
Chambres de commerce et des depart«ments officieb des pays.
{Trandaiion)
That is the wish. It is to the interest of all countries to have all such information.
The wish is then only that those should be presented to the postal convention, aa weD
as all official publications of the commercial federations, of the chambers of oommerce
and of the official departments of nations.
H. le PrfBident: La discussion est done close. Vous avei entendu les diffdrenta ora-
teura, voua aves vu le d^pdt de leurs documents; je vous propose done de passer une resolu-
tion dans oe sens, et que le comity permanent ait pour mission d'attirer I'attention du Bureaa
International de I'Union Postale sur les d^pAta qui ont m faita au cours de cette stance et
de veiaer k ce bureau les documents que nous svons regus k ce sujet.
Je propose done d'avoir la rdsolution suivante:
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 259
The diaciuBioii is Uien cloeed. You h&ve heard the difierent speakera. You have
seen the text of their documenta and I would propose the passage of a resolution im
that sense, that the Pennuieut Committee should have authority to draw the atten-
tion of the International Bureau of the Postal Union to the propodtions which have been
presented in the course of this sitting, and to turn over to that bureau the documents we
have received on the subject.
I propose, therefore, the following resohition:
If. le President; M. le rapporteur Obobo a la parale.
The Reporter, Mr. Gboro, has the floor.
M. Georg: Je pense que vous 6t«8 tous d'occord que je demands K la prisidence de
Touloir bien faire mettre au vote les propositicns qui sont consignees dans le rapport que je
TOUS ai prieente tout k I'heure.
iTrandaHon)
I belike you will all agree that I may request tbe Chair to be so kind as to take
a vote on the propositions which ^tpear in the report that 1 presented to you a short time
M. le Pr<sid«nt: Si nous Totons point par point?
(Translation)
A vote on each point?
H. Qtotg: NoQ, it a ete convenu au d^but que nous voterions sur I'eneemble de ces
propositions, et que les observations formulas seroient vera^ee au d£bat.
(Transtdticm)
No, we have agreed at the outset that we vote on the ensemble of the proposi-
tion, and that tbe observations made would be deposited at tbe desk.
U. le President: Oui. Je demands done de passer un vote sur I'ensemble des proposi-
tions, etant entendu que les observations formuUes aprte seront vers6es au dfbat k titre de
documents. Eet-ce que la chose est bien comprise? Ceux qui sont d'avis de voter la r^lu-
tion dans ce sens, qu'ils veulent bieo lever la main. (.Levte de maina gintrate.) L'6preuve
contraire. (fersonnc ne Ihe la main.) II n'y a done pas d'opposition; en consequence la
question est ainsi vid£e.
{Tnmtlalion)
Yes. I request then a vote on the ensemble of the propositions, it being understood
that the observations expressed afterward shall be deposited at the desk as documents.
Is the matter well understood? Those who favor the resolution in this sense, please raise
their hands. {General rawing of handt.) Any opposition? (No handt art raited.) Then
there is no opposition; as a result the question is thus settled.
Digitized byGoOgIC
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
THE DESIRABILirr OF UTTERNATIONAL DNIFORHITT OF
ACnON IK THE UATTER OF CONSULAR INVOICES
H. i« Pr^Bidaat: M. Tbomas Sammons remplace le rapporteur M. W. J. Cmt.
(TrandaUm)
Mr. Thomas Saum onb takes the place of tlte Reporter, Mr. W. J. Can.
{Mr. TTiomiu Sammtmi is ealUd and hat the fioor.)
Hon. Tbomas Sammmu, Untied Stales Contvl Omerat, Tokoahma, Japan
Gentlemen:
An hoikor has been suddenly thrust upon me ia being selected to pi«0Mit to this distin-
guiahed assemblage the question of uniformity in consular invoices. The ideal MmMilar
service of the world to-day contemplates the maintenance of a capable body of tmined
men who are chiefly concerned in the promotion and extension of trade. Therefore, and
because of his extended kikowledge of the subject, I deeply regret that the director of the
consular service of the State Department of my government is unable to be present- While
Mr. Carr, I am sure, could learn much from you, gentlemen, I am also equal^ CMifidei>t that
be could contribute much of interest.
In medieval times the consular service was concerned in the adjustment of trade troubles,
and the same condition of affairs practically continues to-day. The consular service, tbe
world over, and of all nations, is very fortunate in finding a good friend in the Intematicoud
Chambers of Commerce when it becomes necessary or desirable to take up a question of the
kind which Mr. Carr has reported on.
While there are many questions involved with reference to consular invoices and consular
fees, tbe chief step, the important step, which may possibly be taken here and now, is with
reference to simplification and unification of consular invoices. Having that thou^t in
mind, I will summarize tbe report made by Mr. Carr, which calls attention to the fact that
this subject has been taken up at four seaaions of the International Conference of American
States, and at the last conference formal action was taken approving uniformity and aimpb-
city in a consular invoice which would save much time, save much mJsunderalAnd ing, also
would cost less money if it were accepted and adopted. And the opinion prevails that if
action were taken by this distinguished body in favor of unifomity and simplicity, that then
the various countries concerned — and in fact all the exporting countries of the world aie
concerned — would gradually fall into line and accept the form which has been ^proved
after careful study running over four or five yean.
That form has been placed before you in Mr. Carr's report. It will be unneccaaary for
me to go into details. The matter is entirely before you and you are ready to act tiker«on. I
would only say the question of simplicity and uniformity, putting aside all other questions widi
reference to fees, with reference to whether a consular invoice is a good thing or not, is bdoK
us to-day; and I trust that we may be able to act in favor of imifonnity and simplicity.
I thank you.
H. le PriddMit: M. Manuel Jacintho Febreika da Cunha a la parole.
iTrattdatum}
Mr. Manuel Jacintho Febrkira da CnnHA has the floor.
H. H. J. Ferreln da Cunha, Conml General of BnuH, New York, N. Y.: Je fais d&istanoe
d« la parole, je ne peux pae parler.
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
(rranttofion)
I will give up the floor; I cannot speak.
H. le Prteident: Vous ne voulei pas parler, vous vous d^siatei?
(Trantlaium)
You do not wish to speak, — you yield the floor?
M. H. J. Femirm da Cimtaft: Oui, monsieur.
Dr. Edmnnd KuhobI, AtaitlaTii Secrelary in Ihe Royal Htmgariati Miniitry of Commeree;
Ddtgate of Royal Govemmenl itf Hungry
The question of unifyii^ consular invoices may be called an essentially American ques-
tion, because mvoices provided with a consular vUi are predominantly requested in the Amei^
ican Republics.
The question has, of course, too, an international character, inasmuch as it is also of con-
siderable interest to nations importing into the American states that the regulations referring
to the consular legaliiation of invoices by the American states ahould be stipulated in a manner
which will cause to trade as Uttle vexation as possible.
The most ideal international regulation of consular invoices will be to abolish them en-
tirely. (Criei of "Hear, htarl") We in Hungaiy abolish them almost entirely except in the
most exceptional cases. NeverUieleas, this is the ideal.
First, I must in the interest of redressing thoee complaints made against consular invoices
which prompted the manager of the Honorable Congress to put this question on the order of
the day, readily second the proposition lying before the Honorable Congress according to
which the Congress should express its desire to fix uniform regulations with regard to invoices
in countries where invoices provided with consular authentication are requested, and that
authentication should be restrahied to as few invoices as possible.
It is very important that while unifying consular invoices it should be generally and uni-
formly set down that the consular authentication should be effected as much as possible by
the consulate having authority at the place of origin and not by the consulate of the seaport
from which the goods are shipped to the state of destination.
Stress must be laid on this measure, since for the sake of the compilations of international
statistics, which ate mostly based on the facta Bscertained by the customs manipulation, goods
should be registered according to their real place of origin.
Under the present conditions, when consular invoices are for the most part legalized at
the place of shippii^, it is impossible to form a precise idea of the real foreign traffic of these
goods, as the exports from countries which have no seacoaat at all or possess no direct shipping
connection are registered much below reality.
This circumstance is very disadvantageous not only to American business men, who from
these statistics are unable to get information about the very origin of the goods imported,
but also to the conclusion of commercial treaties for which reliable statistics form an indis-
pensable basis.
The knowledge of the real foreign traffic is a very important economical factor. In order
to find out the real amount of the foreign traffic of the American states it is therefore neces-
sary that invoices should always be authenticated by consulates having authority at the real
place of origin, and not at the port of departure, as it has to take place now in many States.
The President: Mr. Benst.
,y Google
262 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Ht. Lawrence V. Benet, American Chamber of Commerce <^ Pari*
Gentlemen, the delegates of the American Chamber of Commerce of Paris, owing to the
very aituation and daily experience of the memlMre with conmilar invotcee, are placed in a
position favorable tor thoroughly appreciating the necessity for uniformity not only in
consular invoices but also in certificates of origin. While we believe that means can and even-
tually will be found to abolish the conmitar invoice, at the same time safeguaiding govero-
mental interests and those of the world of commerce, we aie well aware of the present difficulties
so ably set forth in the report which has been made before us. We dierefore heartily i^^prove
and second the propositions of Mr. Wilbur J. Carf, who from his wide and long experience,
and as director of the United States Consular Service, has been able to give this matter such
profound and enlightening investigation.
Gentlemen, I thank you.
H. le Pr^^dent: M. Downs eat appel^ pour prendre la parole.
(.Trtm^aHtm)
Mr. Downs has the floor.
Mr. Wmam C. Downs, New York, N. Y.
Mr. Freeident and Gentlemen:
Mr. Carr, in the report that baa been placed before you tm the matter of Consular In-
voices, baa BO carefully indicated and described and so skilfully tabulated the principal points
of difierence in the fonns of such invoices as at present required by various companies aa
essential parts of the shipping documents covering goods which are imported by them, that
it appears to me 1 shall best serve the purpose of the discussion by considering some of the
consular requirementa a little more in detail from the practical point of view of the exporter
to the Latin-American countries. The same difficulties and inconveniences will be encoun-
tered by the European exporter as by the American shipper, since, with the exception of some
alight modifications due to reciprocity treaties or favored nation clauses in the Paris regula-
tions, the consular requirements of any particular country are the same, no matter whether
the goods are exported from Europe or from the United States. As Mr. Carr veiy justly
B^B, the question is one afiecting every exporting country on the globe. With your pennia-
eioB, therefore, I will consider the consular regulations of some of the countries separately,
beginning with the one which presents the least difficulties.
The method of Uruguay is a model of simplicity, and is ^>psrently entirely adequate to
its purpose. Absolutely no consular invoice, as such, is required; three copies of the bill of
lading, however, must be presented to the Uruguayan consul, on two of which he places his
official seal and returns them to the shipper. The third copy is retained by the consul, and
must bear an endonement in Spanish giving a description of the goods, their marks and num-
bers, the number of packages, their cubic measurement, net and groes weights and their value.
A fixed fee of only $1.00 Uruguayan gold is charged for certifying these bills of lading. Such
a document presents no difficulties to the shipper and entails so loss of time in mniHng it up.
Costa Rica's system is also quite simple. While it is true that the consul in the port of
•hipment does not certify an invoice, the shipper is required to make up and forward to the
consignee with the other shipping documents an invoice on a special form for custom-house
purposes, which is certified at the port of entry where the corresponding fee is also paid.
The next most convenient system is that of the Argentine Republic. A certificate of
origin, in Spanish or the language of the coimtry from which the shipment is made, stating
the marks, number of packages, class of goods, their weight or quantity and their country of
origin, and signed by the shipper, is attached to three of the bills of lading and oertified by
the consul, tbe charge being only S2.00 for any shipment irrespective of its value. No state-
ment of value is required. Two of these bills of lading eventually reach the consul Utrough
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMEECE 2o3
the steamrfiip oompanjr. Thta again preeenU no difficulties, but involvea a Uttle more labor
tliAD in the case of Uruguay.
Hayti's method ia similar, Uie difference being that aiz copiee of a consular invoice de-
scribing ib.« goods in mora detail and alao stating their value must be made up in either
Froich or tJ^el'"*' on prescribed forms purohosed of the consul, who is also required to see and
stamp five signed copies of the bill of lading, of which he returns four. This naturally involves
still more labor and toes of time on the part of the shipper. There is, however, no charge for
the certification of the documents.
Next comes Brsail, whose requirements are three copies of a consular invoice on a pre-
scribed form in Portuguese or the language of Ote country of origin, which are certified by the
consul for a fixed fee of S1.Q6, and which must state the marks, number of packages, general
class of the goods, their gross, net aitd legal weights, their value and origin, and the approxi-
mate freif^t and otlier expenses. One of these copies is retained in the archives of the con-
sulate, one is forwarded by the consul to the Federal Government in Rio de Janeiro, and the
third reaches the eostom-houae in the port of entry through ihe consignee of the goods. The
chief diffiotilty of the shipper in fulfilUng these requirements is that it is often practically
inqKMsible to obtain from the manufacturer or supplier an accurate statement of the three
clasaea of weights for his gooda. He may easily fnrniah the gross wagbt of tlie shipping pack-
ages, the weight of the goods in their oontaiuen or wrappers, but he seldom knows the actual
net wught of his product and is likely to eatimal« it or to omit it entirely, being unaware of the
fact ihat the cualom-house regulations of Braail clearly state that "for any difference from
the deelarationa of the consular invoice, in the contents of the volume or volumes, found at
the time of examining the goods, ibe owner or consignee shall be fined double duties whatever
be their amount, for the difference found, be it a difference in quality, weight, lower tax or
valuation," and that "the declaration in the invoice of the gross weight of the merchandise,
when the duties are payable on the net weight, or vioe-verea, incurs the same penalty. To
take a concrete example of the woridng of this regulation, suppose that a shipment is being
made of resin, a very common article of export from the United States to Braail. It is the
trade custom in the United States that resin is bought and sold gross weight for net; that is
to say, from the nature of the article, the wooden container or barrel forming an almost integral
part of the goods, the buyer pays so much per pound for the gross weight of the package.
The eustom-house regulations of Braiit, however, concede an arbitrary tare on resin of 20 per
cent. The average slupper, being unaware of this r^ulation, would in the natural course of
events declare in his consular invoice only one weight, the gross weight, the only weight which
he knows. In ocmaequence of such a declaration the consignee would be obliged to pay 20
per cent mote duties than he should, and would moreover be fined an amount equal to theee
excess duties. In other words he would pay 40 per cent more duties than he should, for which
he would naturally bold tlie ah^'per responsible.
The next general class of ctmaular invoices is that in which die certification fee ia deter-
mined by a fixed percentage of the value of the goods, there being in most casee a minimum
cha^e. In this class the fee is evidently for the purpose of raising revenue and forms a tax
on the goods, which is eventuaDy borne by the importer. To this group belong Bolivia,
Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. The percentage, however, is not uniform, and
Utere are other differences in the respective requirements.
Bolivia ooUects 2 per cent of the value of the goods alone, exclusive of freight and other
charges, with a minimimi charge of S2.00, and requires that the manufacturer's originid invoice
or a copy of the sworn custom-house clearanoe and the bills of lading shall be shown the
consul as evidence that the value is correctly stated.
Panama charges A of 1 per cent with minim ntn of Sl.OO, and also Sl.OO for certifying
Uie bill of lading up to the value of SlOO; for over SlOO, $3.00 is charged. CerUfioates of
insurance must be shown the consul as proof of the value.
Peru ooUeets th» uniform fee of 1 per cent of the value of the goods alone, irrespective of
the siie of the shipment.
Digitized byGoOgIC
264 INTERNATIONAL CONORE88 OP
Eciudor'B chargM an &bo on Uie value of the goode alone and amount to 3 per cent witti
a ininimimi of $1.00.
Cuba's fee ie only i^ of 1 per cent on amounta over $200; for amaller amounta then are
certain fniwimnm fees. The bille of lading must also be oertified at a charge of $1.00 per aet.
Colombia divides its consular invoices into three claaaea; The first ooverB articles mdered
by the government, or the diplomatic coipSi educational supplies, aeeda, plants and animals,
no charge being made for the certification of the corresponding invoioes. The seccmd elaas
includefl supplies for railroads, agriotilture, mines, etc., the fee being 1 per cent.
The third class embraces all other general merchandise, on which the charge ie 3 per oent,
except for articles of gold, silver and precious atones on which 6 per cent is collected. Tbe
amount of Qm expenses must also be stated. These charges, however, are not on the value of
the goods plus freight, insuranoe, commissioD aiul all otlier charges. This regulation, as in
tiie case of Nicaragua, that the fee shall be coUected <ni the amount of the shipping expenses aa
well as on the value of the goods causes great inconvenience to the shipper and often renden it
impoeaible that the shipping documents be forwarded by the steamer carrying the goods. It
is obvious that in order to comply faithfully with theee regulations, and he must comply faith-
fully or render himself liable to heavy fince, the shipper cannot make up his oonsular invoice
until he is in possession of all the details. He cannot know the exact amount of the freight
until he actually receives ibe bills of lading from the steamship cmnpany and oft«n goods are
placed on board up to a few hours before the sailing of the steamer. He eamtot calculate tlie
amount of the insuranoe which he most cover until he knows the frei^t and has ^>prmdma-
ted the other expenses, as prepaid freight and other advance charges must be iiunu«d as well
as the goods titemselves. "Dien he must determiite the amount of his commission, if be is a
commissioa merchant, which ie naturally figured on all disbursements. All this takes time
and labor and leaves no time for the preparation of an accurate consular invoice and obtain-
ing its certification by the consul before the steamer leaves, if the bills of lading are received
only at the last moment. No rush orders can be executed. The shipper from New York
e this di£Scul^ in some instances by forwarding his shipping documents after the
!r has sailed via Mobile or New Orleans, trusting to luck that by thus employing a part
nil and part water route his papers may reach their deetination before the arrival of the ste»-
mer canying the goods. This method, however, is uncertain and is not available to European
shippers or shippers from Mobile or New Orleans tbemselvee. If tlie consignee does not receive
fais psfwrs in time he cannot take his goods out of the custom-house on their arrival and may
have to pay heavy storage charges and may possibly incur a fine.
The next and last classification which I make of consular invoices has the dirting<iiwhing
feature that the fee is not a fixed sum or a definite percratage of the value, but is an aibi-
traiy amount which varies according to the value of the shipment but in no proportionate
ratio. This group is a Urge one and embraces the following countries: Chile, Guatemala,
Hoiuluras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Salvador, Santo Domingo and Venetuela. There are also
various differenoes in the requirements of the countries compodng this class, some taking only
the value of the goods into consideration, others collecting the fee on the freight and other
charges aa well; some requiring separate invoices for each shipping mark, others permitting
several shqtping marks to appear on the same invoice. The objection to calculating the
fee on the expenses has already been pointed out; the system of charging arbitrary sums for
specified amounts is unjust to the small importer and gives an undue advantage to the larger
importer. Consider briefly the fees of tbe different countries in this group.
Chile charges $2.00 on the value of goods up to $250; $2.60 up to $300; $3.00 on the
value of goods up to $450; $3.50 up to $500; $7.50 up to $1250; S13.50 up to S2500; $28.00
up to $5000. As it is the importer who eventually pays the fee, it is evident that tbe
merchant who imports $5000 worth of goods is taxed only i per cent, while the man
who buys $300 at a time pays 83-100 of 1 per cent, and he who purchases $600, 1) per
cent. The larger the importer, the greater the advantage which his own govenunent pves
him over his smaller competitor.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 265
In Guatenula the djaenmm«tian in favor of the Urge man ■■ atill greatw. For iooda
vahied up to SW.M the fee is S7.00; op to S44I».M it is SIO.OO; up to S9W.99 it is $14.00; up to
12990.99 it ie 116,00; up to S5909.9g it is S20.00. ForS6000uidoTerit iaS30phuS2f(»ew^
additional SIOOO ot fracticm therecJ. On this basis the importer of (10,000 worth of goods
would be taxed S28 or a little mam than i of 1 per tent, while lh« teOO importer wonU bav«
to pay $14 or nearly 3 per cent.
Such great diflemiees alao funtiah a strong temptation to under-vahiatkm of goods, which,
alUiough the under-vatution may be very slii^t, is neverthelesB dwnoraliaing. Suppose the
true vahie oi the goods is S502; if honeatly declared the fee would be (14, while it wooM be
only $10 if they were declared at $496.
For H<Hiduras the fee on goods valued up to $25 is $1.00; up to $50 is $1.50; up to $100 it
U $3.00; up to $500 it is $6.00; up to $1000 it is $10.00. For over $1000 it is $10 phw 25 cents
for each $100 up to $10,000. For over $10,000, it ■ $32.50 plus <»ly Ifi cents for each $100.
Thus for $500 you are taxed U per cent, while for $10,000 coly 1 of 1 per cent.
In the case oi Menoo the fees change for every $500 with the advantage always in favor
of the laige importer, alUiou^ not in so marked a degree as in some other cases, $500 paying
about ( of 1 per cent and $5000 about i of 1 per cent.
Nicaragua preemte the following case, the fee being: $2.50 up to $100; $3.00 up to $200;
$5.00 up to SSOO; $10.00 up to $1000. In excess of $1000 the fee is $10 and (of 1 per cent
of the esoeae. Hence the importer of over $1000 has a great advantage over the smaller im-
porter. Nicaragoa also ealeulatea its fees on the frei^t and other chafes.
Salvador also penaliiea the amoll man by charging $1.00 on invoicee up to $25; $2.00
up to $100; $4.00 up to $500; $6.00 up to $1000. For over $1000 the charge is $6.00 plus
25 oenta per $100. For over $5000 the chai^ is $16.00 plus 10 cents per $100. Thus the
tax on $500 is $4.00 or | of 1 per cent, while on $10,000 it is $21, or only t of 1 per cent.
A similar acale for Santo Domingo compels the $500 importer to pay $3 or | of 1 per
oent, whUe the $10,000 importer pays $11 or 11-100 of 1 per cent. The scale is: $1.00 for $50;
$2.00 for $200; $3.00 for $1000; $4.00 for $2000; $5.00 fw $4000; for over $4000 the charge is
$5.00 plus $1.00 for each $100.
Venesuda has a still different range of fees, the charges running: $3.75 for up to $100;
$5.00 for up to $200; $7.50 for up to $800. For over $800 the consul coUecta $7.50 plus $1.25
for each $200. Thus $500 pays $7.60 or li per cent; $1000 pays $8.60 or 85-100 of 1 per
ewit; $10,000 pays $63.76 or 64-100 of 1 per cent.
In the interests of fair play to their own merchanta the countries in this last group should
revise their scale of consular fees and put them upon a percentage basis, no matter what ao-
tdon they nu^ take in the matter of securing uniformity of such invoices.
The disadvantage to the small importer might be overcome were the shipper permitted
to consolidate shipments to various parties on a bill of lading and issue only one consular in-
voice, consigning all the goods to one party for distribution. This, however, is prevented by
the regulation of most of the countries that only one shipping mark may appear on the con-
Dular invoice. It is possible, of course, to give all the goods one general shipping mark, design
Dating the separate consignees by the different numbers given to the package composing the
shipment, but this recourse is generally available only to the lai^e commission houses who
may have several clients in one place — and seldom to the manufacturer who does a direct
business — and these customers must all be on good terms with each other and consent to the
arrangement. In any ease it is liable to cause delay in the execution of the order, confusion
in the deUvery of the goods and makes it impossible to negotiat« each invoice separately. In
short, it is generally unsatisfactory.
This system of calculating fees alao works somewhat to the restraint of trade in r^dering
it extremely difficult to make 0. I. F. quotations, — that is to say, quotations which include
the ooet, insurance, freight and all other charges. Practically all articles that are sold in bulk
or that are subject to violent Saotuations in [oice should be sold on cable quotations, subject
to acceptance by cable, these quotations being the price per unit deUvered in the port of entiy.
Digitized byGoOgIC
266 INTERNATIONAL C0NOBES8 OF
With the consular fees or tazes, however, vaiying in no fixed ratio to the value or quantity,
it is impoaaible to detenniite a unit, Thus the countries using this synteni force their mer-
chants to do a business which is unnecessaiilj speculative.
I have gone thus into detail in the matter of consular AquiremcDts in older to emphasise
Uie importance of mwlfing some reforms. It is now two years since the resolutions cited by
Mr. Oarr were adopted by the Conference of American States in Buuioe Aires and nolhiog
whatever has been done. It is possible that the matter has not been brought forcibly eaoM^
to the attention of commercial organisations such as are represented at this Congress.
After examining this somewhat formidable di^lay of the differences and difficulties in
the documents, it might be asked why are consular invoices required. They ^puently serve
one or more of three puipoees.
First, to facilitate statistical work.
Second, to classify and value the goods for custom-house puxposee and to prevent false
entriee.
Third, to raise revenue.
As to the first, the making of consular invoices would ^tpear to cause unneoeesaiy labor
and loss of time. All steamship companies require that the bill of lading shall show maib,
numbers, numbers of packages, class of goods, quantities and value. If the consul requires
tlieee particulars for bis records, an extra copy of the bill of lading can easily be furnished him
as in the case of Uruguay. The custom-house at the port of entry gets an identical record, as
a bill of lading must be presented to the consignee when the goods are entered. These two
copies should be sufficient for all statistical purposes.
As for the second object, the bill (rf lading again answen every requirement end is again
supplemented by the consignee's custom-house entry. If desirable a separate invoice may be
prepared for custom-house ends as in the ease of Costa Rica, and it is immaterial whether it
ia certified at the point of shipment or at the port of entry — for it must be borne In mind
that in the final arkalysis it is the shipper's word that the consul takes that the statements in
the consular invoice axe true and correct. He has neither the time nor \he means to verify
them himself.
In regard to the third object, to ruse revenue, it has already lieen pointed out that it
is the consignee who eventually pays all the consular fees, since the shipper invariably eith^
eharges them separately in his commercial invoice or adds them to the price of the goods,
be they anall or large. It therefore seems to be a circuitous method of taxation, giving ub-
rkeoessary trouble and causing loss of time to the wrong party. 11)0 fee or tax could be col-
lected more directly at the port of entry by adding its amount to the duties as a sui-tax to
mftint.aiii, if you will, the cousulaT service. It is well to note that none of the counbries re-
quiring consular invoices are free-trade countries, although there are countries which require
no consular documents aitd which still have a hi gh tariff; hence it woukl necessitate no new
machinery to collect the fee in this way.
I venture to suggest, therefore, that to facilitate international commercial relations, the
aim of the International Congress of Chambers of Commerce should be, not merely to secure
uruformity in the matter of consular invoices, but to abolish them entirely, as documents
whose purpose can be more conveniently served otherwise. The certificate of origin reqiured
for goods affected by tariff treaties may be ret^ned, as it gives but little trouble, althou^,
be it said with all due respect to the consular service, the certification by the consul of such a
document is a farce, as he never verifies the statements, the word of the shipper being taken
as sufficient evidence. The abolition of consular invoices would cause a great saving to the
shipper in time and labor and in the hire of clerks who must be familiar with the requirements
of various coiutries, woukl relieve the consignee of many fines occasioned by the fact that
many of the present forms are simply traps for the unwary, and would give the consuls them-
selves more leisure to devote to studying business conditions and to Teport on matteia that
would promote the commercial interests of their respective countries. The consul whoes
time is taken up by the merely routine work of certifying invoices and recording fees cannot
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 267
do much in the way of indepeDdent reeeuch which might be of great value. It might be well
to uot« in thia connection that most of the countriee of Europe, some of which are free-trade
and acme of which are high tariff countriea, get along veiy well without consular documents.
Their statistics are just as compIet«, their custom-houses do not suffer any more through
fraudulent entries and their revenues are maintained as well as in the case of countries requir-
ing such documents.
This is the ideiJ. Failing to reach this, strive for the second beet — umformity of con-
sular invoices. For this the form recommended by the Fourth International Conferenos of
American States held in Buenos Aires in 1910, a copy of which has been submitted by Mr.
CfUT, seems to answer the purpose.
If even this cannot be attained, or perhaps as a preliminaiy step to this end, the coun-
tries which collect fees on shipping expenses and those whose fees are disproportionate fixed
sums for specified ajnounta should at least reform these inconvenient requirements.
My recommendation, then, in the matter of consular invoices, in the order of desire
bility, would be; — AboUtion, Standardisation or Modification.
I beg to thank you, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, for the courtesy and attention with '
which you have listened to this necessarily dry and technical exposition and argument.
The President: The next speaker has token considerable interest in tliis matter, is
especially fitted to apeak upon it, and I think you will all be pleased to hear him.
Hon. John Barrett, THreelor'Qentnd of fAe Parii-AmerUan Union
Mr. President, and Members of the Congress:
I shall take but a moment of your time thia morning, because I know how little time is
now left to the Congress. But I shall explain why I wish to say a word upon this subject.
The Pan-American Union, of which I happen to be executive officer, is greatly interested
in this problem, because perh^is no other official institution in the world appreciates moro
the necessity for improving the facilities for exchange and trade among nations. For the in-
formation of some of the European delegates who are here I want to say this, that the Pan-
American Union is an international organisation maintained in Washington by the joint
contributions of the 21 American republics, from the United States and Mexico on the north
to Argentina and Chili at the south. Its governing board is made up of ambassadors and
ministers of those countries and its affairs are directed by a director-general and assistant-
director chosen by that board.
I stand before you in my capacity as an officer, an international officer, not only of the
United States but of the other 20 republics of the Western hemisphere, to urge upon you
the adoption of a resolution, if presented, in favor of uniformity of consular invoices, to im-
prove md facilitate the exchange of trade.
Evety day our correspondents bring to us letters not only from American manufacturers
and merchants, but from those of Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, England, all over
the world, asking if the Pan-American Union as a great international organisation cannot do
Bometbing t« advance the cause of uniformity of consular invoices.
I want to say also that there is the sentimental side. As the head of the international
organization which to^y is doing the best possible work for peace, an organization which
is pertts^ doing more woik along this line than any other great official organization of the
world in a practical form, that being the great thing for which we are all woricing, I would
say that there is nothing that promotes friendship and accord among nations so greatly as
the extension of trade. . Trade is the apostle, the agent of peace and prosperity throughout the
world, and the more we can do to make the exchange among nations facile, the mora we can
do to remove the difficulties and obstacles, the nearer we will come to the ultimate object of
this organization — that of peace among all nations.
1 want to say this, tiiat the Pan-American Congress held in Buenos Aires in 1910, in
Digitized byGoOgIC
268 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Rio de Jameiio id 1906 and in Mexico in 1901, to which I had the honor to be a delegate for
the United States — and even the one which met before in Wuhington, nearly 20 years ago, —
dealt with this subject as one of the most profound interest to the three hundred or four
hundred men who gathered from every one of the nations of the Western hemisphere. If it
is of interest to tliem, it is of interest to all the world.
The Pan-American Union, as I have often said, although controlled and developed by
the American nations, being an American organiiatton, has nothing whatever in its constitu-
tion or work that is antagonistic to Europe. On the other haikd, it is desirous of soeing trade
between the Latin-American countries and the United States, and Europe and the Orient,
built up, because it is of interest and benefit to aU. This concerns the countries of Europe
just as much as it does the United States aitd South American countries; aitd so I appeal to
you to go forward in a spirit of faimesa, as men who want to see every country get the ad-
vantage in trade, consid^ing the proposition in a fair wi^, and in some manner getting some-
thing practical out of the discussions this morning.
Gentlemen, I thank you.
H. le Prfiaident: M. C H. Catelu a maintenant la parole.
iTraruiatvm)
Mr. C. H- CateuJ, now has the floor.
H. C. H. Catelli, Member of Montreal ChanAer of Comment
Monsieur le President, messieurs les membres du congrte international, je repr^sente la
Chambre de commerce de Montr^. Comme I'a dit M. WiUnir Garr, il faut de plus en plus
tendre h la simplification des moyens pennettant aux nations d'avoir des relations les imes
avec lee autres.
Faire I'^conomie du travail et dee capitaux et faire I'accord mutuel oomme base dea re-
latione, tant politiques que commercisJes; et pour arriver & cette simplification, & cette £co-
Qomie et vers cet accord mutuel, M. Carr reconunande d'assurer la r^ementation uniform
en ce qui conceme la facture paraph^ par les consuls. Or, la Chambre de commerce de Mon-
tr^ (Canada), soumet respectueusement k ce congr^ s'il ne serait pas desirable d'&ar^r le
cadre de la question qui nous occupe en ce moment et d'^mettre le vteu que le gouvernements
des divers pays repr^sent^ k ce congrto, autorise les Chambres de commerce & Ifgaliser les
dcritures d'expMiteurs, cranme cela se fait d£j& par le consul en vertu du traits qui r^e lee
relations commerciales du Canada avec la France. Cette autorisation est donn£e aux presi-
dents des Chambres de commerce et aux pr^idents des associations commerciales en Italie.
Je crob que le prudent des Chambres de commerce a cette autorit4 nulle part autant qu'au
Canada. Cette innovation aura d'heureux rfeultats. I^e Canada est appel^ & deveuir un grand
pays d 'exportation, mais le nombre de consuls n'est pas aussi considerable qu'il devrait I'Stre.
Or, si les gouvernements exigent un certificat d'origine vis* par les consuls, les exportateurs
canadiens auront k souSrir de graves inoonvenients, et il en serait de m£me pour tous [lays
oii le territoire est immense.
En Canada, les consuls sont etabUs dans les grandee villes. Or, on ne peut se rendre
compte dea ennuis dea eiportateurs que le jour oil il faudra se rendre che* le consul pour faire
viser les factures. D'un autre cAte, il existe des Chambres de commerce dans toutee les villes.
On voit quels services peut rendre une toi qui aulorise les prfsidenls dea Chambres de com-
merce k parapher les factures; c'est par ce moyen qu'on arrivera k simplifier toutea les
formality qui r^gissent les rapports entre les commergants des divers pays.
(rrandn/Mm)
Mr. President, Members of the International Congress, I represent the Chamber
of Commerce of Montreal. As Mr. Wilbur Carr has said, there is more and more need
for the simplificatioD of the means by which nations have relations with one another.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 269
Wtdi a Tiew to the econonqr of e^Mt«l and labor and with a view to '"■^'"e mutual
good win the fouodatioa ot hoOi poUtical and commercial relations, and in order to
arrive at thia •ooaomy and to ^>proach this mutual good will, Mr. Cair recommends
unifoim regulatioDa in the nuktter of cmuular invoices. Na-w the Chamber at Commerce
of Monb«al, Canada, respectfully submits to this CongresB whether it will not be de-
sinible to enlarge the scope of the question which we have under conaiderati<m at this
time, and to adopt a resolution that the governments of the different countries repre-
sented at this Congress authorise chambers of commerce to legalise the documents of
exporters, as is dime alre«dj by the consul under a treaty which regulates the commer-
cial rebtions of Canada with France. This authority is given to the preudenU of
chambera of cmnmeree and to the presidents of oommercial associations in Italy. I
think that the |we«idents of chamben of commerce have this authority nowhere as
much as in Canada. Thia innovation will have very happy reaulta. Canada is becoming
a greftt exporting country, but the number of consuls is not as large as it should be.
Now if the governments demand a oertificate of origin viaU by the consuls, Canadian
exporters will have to suffer great tntxmvenience, but it will be the same for all coun-
ties where the territory is immmse.
In Canada the consuls are located in the large cities. It is impossible to realise
the great inconvenience to exporters if it should be necessary to go to the office of the
consul to have the invoices aigiied. On the other hand chambers of commerce exist in
all cities. It is easy to aee of what great service would be a law which authoriaes
the presidents of the chambers <rf commerce to sign the invoices. By this means the
formaUtiee governing the dealing between merchants and different countries would be
simpliffed.
U. le Prteidant: M. Mobton a la parole.
(Translation)
Mr. MoBTOM has the floor.
Hr. C. D. Morton, London Chamber of Commerce
Mr. Preddent and Gentlemen, we have great pleasure in supparting the moat able paper
of Mr. Wilbur Carr, whom we think has dealt with this subject in a very clear, concise and
able manner. He has taken up every possible detail and explained it fully, and we give it
most hearty support.
There is one point I would like to mention, and that is in regard to a custom that pre-
vails in some parts of South America of delivering goods against a consular invoice. I have
always understood myself, and I think it is the general understanding, that a consular in-
voice ia not to be used as a bill of lading. But this does occur in a. few of the republics.
I take the liberty of mentioning it here, as I think it ia a practice that we do not wiah
to see grow. In London, we consider the bill of lading to be the legal document which fur-
nishes the only title to claim the goods. (Applause.)
U. le PrteJdent: M. Soetbzek a la parole.
{TranOaUon,)
Mr. SoETBzEK has the floor.
Dr. Socrtbeer, " Der Deuttche Handeliiag " of Berlin.
Meine Uerren! Die Tageeordnung lautet: „VereiDheitlichung der Konsulsts-Fakturen,"
und der Herr BerichUrstatter wfinscht, daC wir uns dafUr aussprechen, daB die KoDOuUts-
Fakturen vereinhdtlicht werden.
Digitized byGoOgIC
270 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Icb bin nioht dagegeD, — im Gegenteil, ich ^ube, daB dies «
ich habe dfts BedOifnis su erict&ren, daB der Wunsch sehr beacheideD ist. Es ist nicht so
wichtig, daC die Konsulata-Fakturen einheitlich sind, als dafi mOglichst wenig Belftstigungea
duTch die Konsulats-Fakturen heibeigefflbrt werden. MOglichat wenig BeUatigungen nach
drei Richtungen ^in ; einma], daQ die verlangte Zahl der Koii0ulato-Fak;turen mOglichst gering
iat; iweitens, dafi die geforderten Formalititon tunlichst einfach Hind, — damit man nicht
etwa erat lum Notar lu gehen braucht, wie ea einige Staat^i veriangen; und drittens, dafi me
mOgUchst billig Bind, (j^tkr riehtigl")
Das Bind drei Fordeningen, die unbedingt wichtiger Bind, als die Vereinheitlichung, denn
wenn diese Vereinheitlichung schlecht ist, dann habot wir kein Interesse daran, wir haben nur
dann ein Interesse daran, wenn die Vereinheitlichung gut ist, und wii baben das ent« Interewe
daran, — wie auch schon einer der Herren Vorredner bemerkt«, — doB die Konmilats-Faktuien
flberhaupt abgeacbafft werden. i„Braeo/" — „Sekr richiif f ")
Es ist eine beaondere LiebenswOrdigkeit unaerer Freunde aus den Vereinigten Staaten,
daO Bie una Qel^enheit geben, hier zu Bagen, dafi wir leider in Deutechland sehr beUstagt
werden durch die Fordenmgen der Veteinigten Staaten, die man an diejenigen Finnen stellt,
die nach den Vereinigten Staaten ezportieren, hinaichtlich der Konsulate-Fakturen, wie s. B.
Angabe dee Wertes uew., und ich m6chte um Nachforschungen darOber bitten, inwieweit
dieae Anforderungen richtig eind, nach der Art, wie die Saohen genutcht werden ii>nii« ii
Kun und gut : es gibt eine ganse Ansahl von Dingen, die man hier vorbringm kOnnt«, und ich
mdchte erid&ren, indem ich schliefie, dtuQ ich den hier in der Vorlage geiuBerten Wunacb fOr
Behr beacheiden halt«, und dafi ich nur defdialb keine neiteren Antrftge stelle, weil sie Ober
den Rahmen der heutigen Tageeordnung hinweggehen wQrden. (Be-all.)
(Tratulalum)
Gentlemen, the order of the day reads, "Uniformity in the Matter of Qmsular In-
voices," and the esteemed R^Ktrter wishes to have us pronounce ourselves in favor of
having consular invoicea made uniform.
I am not oppoeed, — on the contrary, I believe this is highly deairsble, — but I
would like to say that this wish is rather modest. It ia not ao important to have the
conaular invoicea uniform as it is to have sa few annoyances as poaeible in connectiiw
with consular infoicea. We wiah to reduce as far as poasible the trouble in three direo-
tiona: firat, the number of copies of the oonaular invoices ehould be as small as poaaible;
second, the formalities required ahould be aimplified as far as possible, — for instance, to
make it unnecessary to first go before a notary, as is required by some counUiee; and,
third, the charges should be as tow as possible. (Approad.)
These three demands are undoubtedly more important than mere uniformity, sinee
if this uniformity is bad it would not be to our advantage. We are only interested in it
if the uniformity ia good, and our greatest interest, — aa one of our apeakera has
already said, — would be to have the consular invoices abolished altogether. (.^ppIauM.)
It ia eapecially kind of our frienda in the United States th^t they give us an appor-
tuuity to say here that we are in Germany very much bothered through the require-
mmts of the United States from firms exporting to the United States in respect to the
consular invoices, as for instance, the statement of value and M) forth, and I HboukI be
glad to obtain infonnation as to how far these requirements are comet and bow the
matter really ahould be carried out. In brief, there are many things which might be
stated here, and I will say in closing that I oonaider the desire expressed in the moUoo
to be very modest, and that I am only withheld from a further motion by the fact that it
would exceed the scope of our present order of the day. (Applause.)
H. 1« Pr^sldont: M. Kibsselbach a la parole.
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 271
Dr. A. Eiendbach, Haminfrg ChatiAer of Commene
I am not aUe lo follow the deduvtions of this report, because I believe that the disad-
rantages of the present intern of consular invoices would not be avoided if we should accept
this proposed form for ccaunilar invoices. On page 2 of the report you find enumerated a
number of complaints about the |»esent system. The first eonplaint you find there is that
"S<Mne oountriee require the ah^per to submit only three copies, while othen require five,
six or, as in the case of Ecuador, seven copies." The proposed form of invoice does not say
anything ^>out the number or price which the alilppet would have to submit, so Uiat at this
point the acceptance of the proposed form would not be of any advantage.
The second point concerns the language which is to be used for the invoices. The report
Bays, "Most countriee require invoices to be in Spanish, while others permit also the use of
English." The proposed form of invoice uses the English language. 1 do not know if it is
intended to prescribe exclusively the use of the E "g1i'Ji language. That would be no relief
for an exporter in Spain. But if it is not intended, also in this point the acceptance of the
proposed form could not bring any advantage.
The third point you find on page 2: "Invoices for some of the countries must be sworn
to," etc. That la the same as with other points you find enumerated there.
So I am Horry to come to the conclusion that the acceptance of the proposed form of con-
sular invoice cannot be considered, as I eay, as in the line of progress.
M. le Pr£ddent: M. Mambb a la parole.
Berr Hugo Hanes, Auoeialion of Export Hmua, Frantforl-on^he-Main
Meine Henent Um Omen nur an einem Beispiel klanumachen, wie eehr «e nStig ist, die
Konsulats-Fakturen einer einheitlichen Rcgelung zu unteriieben, will ich nur mitteilen, dafi
ich hier lu^ef&hr ein Dutzend Briefe von deutschen Exporteuren und Fabrikanten habe, in
denen au^efOhrt wird, dafi die Konsulate der Kubanischen Republik die deutechen Faktu-
ren, die nach Euba gehm, in einer sehr eigentOmlichen Weise behandeln.
Der General-Konsul in Hambui% verlangt eine aiebenfache AusfOhrung auf von ihm
beiogenen Formularen, von denen je die ente Seit« mit 10 Pfemug und je die iweite Seite
mit 5 Pfennig berechnet wird. Der Konaul in Bremen verlangt eine fOnffache und der Kon-
sul in NOmberg eine dreifache Ausfertigung der Fakturen.
Hieraus eraehen Sie, meine Herren, dafl es unbedingt erforderlich ist, die game Prage
ajomal einheitlich lu regeln. {Beifall.)
(Translolton)
Gentlemen, to show you by an example how necessary it is to have consular in-
voices subject to uniform regulations I would say that I have here about a dosen tett«n
from German exporters and manufacturers stating tliat the consulates of the Cuban
Republic treat the German invoices which are sent to Cuba in a very peculiar manner.
Hie Consul General in Elamburg requires seven copies on forms furnished by him,
for which a charge is made of ten Pfennigs for the first page and five Pfennigs for each
additional p^e. The Consul in Bremen requires five oc^ies, while the Consul in
Nuremburg only donands three copies.
This will show you, gentlemen, that it is entirely to be desired that the entire
question should be uniformly re^pilated. {Applause.)
U. le PrSsldant: M. Paul Meter a la parole.
Digitized byGoOgIC
272 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Mr. Paul Meyer, Nottingham Chamber of Commerce
Mr. President aixl Gentlemen, the time for cloeing our proceedings is approaching, and
I shall be very brief. While I am most anxious not to hurt the feelings of our American
friends, who have done and are doing so much for our comfort and pleasure, I think I must
not let this occasion pass without mentioning the abuses to which consular invoices aometimeB
lead. You are all business men and you know that between customers one sometimes has to
differentiate. That is to say, a man who buys a hundred pieces generally gets an advantage
over the man who buys five or ten. While the American Government is most anxious to study
alt the markets and get to this real maricet value of merchandise, and while, as far as I know,
the Europeans are most anxious to support the endeavor of the American ofBoets, we find
great difficulty in getting satisfaction, One abuse which I think I must bring before ytm is
this, that when the oustom-house in the United States is in doubt as to whether the market
vahie is correct, as stated in the invoice, they generally go to some of the firms who haitdle
tlie same article and get their information. This is all ri^t, everybody wants to do what he
can to support honest trade. But if the custom-house in some instances goes so far as to
show the invoice to the competitor of the man to whom the invoice is directed, I say it is
abusing consular invoices. (Apptaute.)
I am quite prepared to give chapter and verse to some select committee who may wisfa
to know facts. Speaking for the Chamber of Commerce of Nottingham, we heartly agree witb
the idea of unifying as much as possible the consular invoices. (Applaute.)
M. I« President; M. J. A. Leckiu a la parole.
{Trantlation)
Mr. J. A. Leckix has tlie floor.
Mr. Joseph A. Leckle, WaUaB {England) Chamber of Commerce
Mr. President and Gentlemen, in view of the late hour I would waive my right to speak
at this time, with the understanding that I may prepare a few brief remarks and put then in
the proceedings.
(Permietion wiat aeeorded Mr. Leckie to do thie, and laler he ntbmiUed the foBmeing:)
Mr. FrcEident and Gentlemen; On behalf of the Walsall Chamber of Commerce I deeite
tA give the most hearty support to the report of Mr. Carr, and to the recommendations which
he makes. Anything that will tend to simplify these exasperating documents called Consular
Invoices will have the enthusiastic support of Great Britain. Indeed we should like to go
farther. We do not see that the value of consular invoices is commensurate with the trou-
ble, worry and expense which their preparation involves. In fact, there is an idea in some
quarters — mistaken it may be — that these documents are demanded in order to find woik
and fees for the consuls of the countries which insist upon them.
If great business nations like Germany and Great Britain can get along without eoa-
Bular invoices surely that is prima facie evidence that they are not absolutely necessai; for
the due conduct of import trade. Perhaps the abolition of consular invoices is at the momott
not a question of practical politics, and in the meantime, we hope the recommeadatfoo of
Mr. CaiT will be adopted by the different governments concerned. The simplification and
uniformity which this will bring about will be welcomed by British business men.
M. le Prfeident: Son Excellence F. A. Pssbt a la paiole.
{Trantlalion)
His Excellency F. A. Peekt has the floor.
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 273
Sb Ezcdlencr F. A. Paiat, Miniiter of Peru, Watkinnlvn, D. C.
Mr. Freeident, Gentlemen, I do not want to take any of your time. I just wish to men-
tion that I am here not aa representative of the Peravian Government, although I am Min-
ister at Washington from that country. I am representative of the commercial interests of
Peru, the Chambers of Commerce of Callao and Lima, and the Stock Exchange of Lima. I
was in the consuhu' service many years before I went into the diplomatic. I am familiar
with this question of consular invoices, and personally I have alwiQrs recommended to my
government the abolition of consular invoices, as I considered them perfectly useless. ("Hear
kearl") And, speaking for the commercial interests of Peru, the chambers of commerce of
my country, I am authorised to state that notwithstanding the position which my govern-
ment may wi^ to take in this matter, the commercial interests in Peru wish and deejre the
complete abolitim of the consular invoice — just attach the signature of the consul to two
oopiee of the bill of lading, thus Fr m Vin g it more valid if possible. I have the honor to salute
you. (AppJauM.)
U. le FrMdent: Le dernier orateur est M. ErrotNE Ai-labd.
(TraiuIaNon)
Mr. EuofcNB Au>Am> wiU be the last speaker.
H. Engine AUard, Pretident qf Bti{pan Chamber of Commerce iff Parie
Je n'ai qu'une seule demands k faire: devant les mesures qu'on noua propose, devant
I'esp^ce de reportage qu'on veut donner K ees mots "factures consulaires," eh bient messieurs,
je crois qu'il i^partient au congrte de demander carr£ment la suppression pure et simple de
la facture consulaire.
(Trantlatwn)
I have oikly one request to make. Li advance of the steps which are proposed,
in advance of the kind of continuance sought to be given to the words "consular in-
voices," I think, gentlemen, that it would be proper for the Congress to demand
squarely the absolute abolition of the consular invoice.
H. le President: J'ai une proposition: nous nous trouvona en presence d'un report.
Nous prenons acte de vos remorques. Les orat^urs ont fini d'adreaser la parole, je vaia main-
tenant donner lecture de la proposition.
ITranelation)
A motion has been presented; we have a report before ua. We will make due
note of your remaits. The speakers have finished their speeches. I will now read the
draft of the resolution.
(Continuing in Englieh)
The Congress approves in principle the proposal for uniformity of consular invoices, and
recommends to the mtereeted States lor their consideration the form of consular invoice pre-
pared by the Fourth Conference of the Pan-American Union.
The Congreaa approves the recommendation for moderate consular fees and their strict
limitation to amounts necessary to cover the cost of the consular service.
(ConlintUng in French)
Ceux qui sont d'avis d'adopter ces conclusions, qu'ils veulent bien lever la main.
iLev4e de mains gfniraU.) L'£preuve oontraire? Le Congrte adopte.
(TnnuIaMon)
Those in favor of adopting these resolutions will please raise their hands. (Qeneral
TttiHng of handi.) Contrary mindedT The Congress adopts the resolutions.
Digitized byGoOgIC
4 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Un D^^EuC: Monsieur le Frfmdent . . .
H. le President: Sur quelle question, monsieur?
(Tranilatum.)
On what question, please?
His Ezcellenc; Antonio Haitin Kivero, Minuter <^ Cuba, Washington, D. C; DdegaU of Oa
Gooemment o} Cuba
I will speak in T'^gi'"'' Tttis proposition was piesented at tlie table by tlie delegation
from Cuba. 1 sent it myself and I want it to stand on lecord that this was ptopoaed by thia
delegation, and also that I know that the repreeentative of Japan desires to sooond Uutt mo-
tion before it is put to vote — that is, the question before the house.
The President: That will be recorded in the transactions.
THE DESmABILITT OF kS mTERITATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON PRICES AND TOE COST OF LIVING
H. la President: Msint^iant, nous aboidons le dernier ordre du jour. J'ai demand^
hier d'avoir un peu de patience et que nous poumons ainsi terminer ce matin. II est midi,
nous avons une heure devant nous, et aveo un peu de bonne volont^, nous pouvons finir.
(Translation)
We will now b^in on the last subject on the order of the day. 1 asked yesterday
ttiat you kindly have a little patience which will enable us to finish this morning. It
is now twelve o'clock; we have an hour before us and with a little good will we shall
be aUe to finish.
M. le I^fisident: Le rapporteur, M. E^bhkb, a la parole.
{TTondation)
The Reporter, Mr. Fibheb, has the floor.
Prof, bvlng Fisher, Yale VnieeriUy
Gentlemen, inaeonuch as my report has been published and circulated I will oonfine n^
self, in order t« save time, to a brief summary of the report, for the benefit of tlMwe irtw bare
not read it.
The fact of high prices is world-wide. Primarily this is a business faot. OwTulsionB in
prices, booms and depreaaimis, concern rightly busineas men. Leea than a generation ago
the whole world was complaining of a proloi^ted fall in prices; now it is ctxnplainmg of a pro-
longed rise in prices. Then the cry was, Depression of trade; now the cry is, The hi^ cost of
living. Then there was a great deal said about the purchasing power of money increasing,
and now the purchasing power of money is decreasing. Then much was said about the scar-
city of gold; now much is said about the abundance of gold. Then there were proposals carried
out for international conferences on the gold question, and to-day there is a proposal for an
international conference on the whole subject of the high coat of living.
I believe the time will come when business men may well feel t^ need of a more stable
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 275
stamdanl of value. Ili&t is, we should have a gold etandard which is of oonatant purchaaing
power instead of merely, as at present, constant weight. One of New Yoric's fotemoet buw-
ness men, a cotton broker, b to-day devoting much of his time to exhibiting the evils to in^
veetoro and business men of a variable dollar.
The proposal for an intematiooal inveatigstion of the high cost of living — the facts, tbe
cauBsa, the Affects, the possible remedies, including not only the subject of a variable unit of
purcbaaing power, but also the subject of the purchasing power of one's whole income, has
been endraaed by the leadii^ buaineas men and organizations of thia country and some of
Europe. Financial editors, railway presidents, bankers and others, have joined in the move-
ment for an international investigation. Many chambers of commerce have done this, A
partial list is included in the printed report. It includes the Boston Chan^r of CcHnmerce.
The proposaJ has the eodotsemfflit of Uie President of the United States and of all the candi-
dates for the presideaey in the present campaign. It has the endorsement of the "London
Economist," of the "London Statist"; the endorsement of Bernhard Detnburg, formerly
Secretary of State of Qermany; of Hon. Raymond Foincare, Premier of France; Dr. Robert
Meyer, Finance Minister of Austria; Dr. Morawiti, President of the Anglo-Austrian Bank
of Vienna; Signor Luigi Luitatti, formerly Minister of State, Rome; of Baron Y. Sakatani,
formerly Finance Minister of Japan, and many others, a partial list of whrau is given in the
printed report.
On Febiuary 2, 19L2, President Taft sent a special message to Congress, advocating that
Congiesa autboriw him to call together an international conference to discuss the cost <tf
living. In that message he said:
"There has been a stroi^ movement among economists, business men and others inter-
ested in economic investigation to secure the appointment of an international commission
to look into the cause for the hi^ prices of the necessities of life,
"For some years past the high and steadily increasing cost of living has been a matter of
each grave public concern that I deem it of great public interest that an international confer-
ence be proposed at this time for the purpose of preparing plans, to be submitted to the va-
rious governments, for an international inquiry into the high cost of living, ite extent, causes,
effects and possible remedies . . .
"He numerous investigations on the subject, official or other, already made in various
countries (such as Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmaric, France, Germany, Great Britain,
Italy, the Netheriands and the United States) have themselves atran^y demonstrated the
need of further study of world-wide scope. Those who have conducted these investigations
have found that the phatomenon of rising prioea is almoet if not quite general throughout the
world; but they are baffled in the attempt to trace the causes by the impoesiblility of m airing
any accurate international comparisons."
IMor to the President's message. Senator Crawford had introduced a bill for this pur-
pom, and afterwards Mr. William Sulier, ch^rman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in
the House, introduced a bill, and the Senate bill has been unanimously passed in April, 1912,
and it has been unanimously recommended by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs cm
May 15, 1912, in an elaborate report of twenty^^iiue pages. It now goes over as nnfinished
business, to be voted on in the House of Representatives at the next Congress. Having
passed one House it still requires passage in the other and the signature of the President.
The work to be undertaken by such an inquiry would relate to three branches. Firat,
the facte — the facts as to the high coet of living; second, the causes; third, the remedy.
Even aa to the facts, there is difference of opinion. Although there is a great deal of glib
discussion, when the facts as presented are challenged they are found to rest on very insecure
foundation. Very few nations have any index numbers showing the extent of tlie change in
prices. The few that have — such as the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany,
Japan and India — all have them by different methods. For instance, the United Stales
Bureau of Labor has an index number involving 266 commodities; England, through the wool
merchant, Mr. Baurbeck, has an index number of 44; the "London Economist" has 22.
Digitized byGoOgIC
276 INTERNATIONAL C0NGRE8B OF
Oiirrrtmmiiimnm.rnfTjihnr, Th- NhiTI, him lung uniighf.fji Bw-iirp Minn. ilBgr»nfniiilynfmrfh«i
and oomputJiility of statistics and index numbers; and J am infonned this moming tJiat the
N&tional Hungarian Commercial Aseociation at Bud^iest has recently passed a reaohitMo
asking eome method of unifonnity in index numbers of prices.
As to the oausefl, there is much disagreement. Much is said of gold, something of credit,
something of tariffs. There are at least tventy odd causes assigned for the high cost of living.
These should be investigated and reduced to a few, at any rate.
As to remedies, there is still more need of an intomstional conference. Many imiK»'
practical proposals have been made, and many radical suggestions bavo been made. All
should receive conuderation.
Among the suggestions to go to the root of the matter is ime of my own in reference to
the dollar as a stable standard of purchasing power. The suggestion which 1 have made and
which is elaborated somewhat in this report, and still further in eome tyi)ewTitten memo-
randa here, is simply the wooing out of an idea suggested eome time ago by Gov. Woodrow
Wilson, now one of the nominees for the preaideney of the United States. I did not inteod to
mention this detail, but the Boston committee on program adced me to do so, and I have
done so merely as an illustration of the kind of subject which would be conudeied by am in-
ternational conference. And I wish to emphasise the fact, as I understand some one looking
merely at the Bummaiy of this report has misunderstood it — that any endorsement of the
plan for an international conference on the cost of living does not by any means commit tbia
organitation to approval of my particular suggestion for a remedy. (_"Hear,ktart") It
merely commits the association as in favor of having the disousaion of this and all the other
remedies which may be suggested.
As to the technical woridng out of the plan for maUng a more stable dollar, so far as il
is not fully and technically expressed in this report, I would refer you to the dosing ch^ter of
my book, "The Purchasing Power of Mwiey," or for a still more technical and complete ex-
pteaaion, to the typewritten memoranda here which I have especially prepared for distribu-
ticm at this Congress to any of those who may be particularly interested in this vital subject.
And any of yon who take these memoranda would do me a service if you woukl send me your
name and address, in order that I may oommunicato with you further.
The plan, I would say, if I may add one word about my own particular plan, is one which
does not involve any untried elements. It merely is novel in that it brings together a number
of elements, every one of which has been tried out by business experience.
Of course it is not pretended that to cure a variability in the purchasing power of the dollar
would fully solve the great question of the high cost of living. The high cost of living is a
problem of the purchasing power of inocmie, and therefore involves two great branches —
first, the purchasing power of the monetary unit, the dollar, the franc, the matk, tJie pound
Btorling; and second, the number of such units in the incomes of the people. Both of these
prdaleme merit careful consideration by an international inquiry on the subject. It is not
only of great interest to-day, but it will be of great interest in the future if the prediction which
I venture to make with considerable confidence comes true — that the rising tide of the price
level will continue in the future. I do not mean to say that it will steadily increase year after
year; on the contrary, I believe that it will be broken before many years by a crisis more ot
less severe. But 1 do mean to say on the basis of a careful statistical study which I have
recently published in the Atn«ntxtn Economic Reoimii, that the general level of prices, the
general trend of prices for a number of yeats in the future will be upward and not downward-
No one nation can successfully cope with this great subject; it is too big. It requires an in-
tomational conference, and an international conference will surely be called if there is suffi-
cient demand for it; and the demand which counts most with legislatures is the demand of
business men. And it is for that reason that I appeal to you as business men to lend your
approval to the plan for an international investigation on the high cost of Uving, in order
that this great subject may be dealt with in a statesmanlike and a businesslike manner. (Ap-
piatite.)
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 277
Th« Pratfdent: Mr. KuNoei.
Dr. Edmund Eimo^, Assittanl Secretary Royal Hungarian idinwtry of Cwimerce; DelegaU of
Boyai OonemmfiU of Htaifiarv
Mr. Presideiit and Gentlemen, in the name of the National HuDgaritm Commercial As-
sociation I submitted to the Congress a proposal of resolutiona and a report on the same on
the uniform compilation of statistics of prices. This proposition was printed and distributed
&mong the members of the Congresa; therefore, 1 will not trespass on your time by repeating
it. I for my part accept the proposal of the Reporter, because the calling of an international
conference on this question is necessary for the realization of our proposal concerning the uni-
form compilation of statistics of prices, and because just before its adjourmnent the Coi^ress
has no time to discuss such complicated methods. When this international conference is held
I shall try to find opportunity to submit proposals to it.
An EngUsh Delegate; Mr. President, I would like to ask a question. Is this really a
question affecting chambers of commerce? Is it not really raising a poUtical question with
ivhich chambers of commerce have really no say?
H. le President: La question a 6t6 mise & I'^tude, des rapports ont it6 pr6par£es, et elle
est & I'ordre du jour; nous suivons notre ordte du jour. Vous pouvez avoir votre opinion k
ce sujet, mais nous derons quand m&ne continuer.
iTrafulation)
The question has been given study, reports have been prepared, and it is in the
order of the day; we follow our order of the day. Vou may have your opinion on the
subject, but we must nevertheless continue.
Mr. C. H. Canhy, Board of Trade, CkKogo, lUinoU
Only one moment, gentlemen. I will detain you but one moment. The profeasor has read
from the brief which was submitted to all the members of the Congress practically his argu-
ment in favor of the international conference on the cost of living. I have read his brief with
some care, and I do not find anywhere in it any recognition of the law of supply and demand.
["Hear, htarl") Those of us who have been closely identified with the handling of mer-
chandise know that at no time in the past, not now and at no time in the f ututre will a dollar,
a franc, a marie or a pound sterling ever have a fixed purchasing power for more than the one
moment before you. ("Hear, hear!") Every merchant in the worid is changing the pur-
chasing power of money every week. And how is he doii^ that? You have a stock of goods.
Those goods you ofier l4>day for sale at a certain price. Within ten days' time the failure of
a crop from which those goods are manufactured has changed the whole price level of that one
particular commodity, without touching any one of another thousand commodities. What is
the merchant's attitude? Instantly hia price is marked up. The dollar, the pound sterling,
is not depreciated as a purchasing power — not at all ; but in this particular instance he asks
a higher rate for his goods.
Now, so far as the cost of living in the United States is concenked — and that b the only
country of which I have any doee personal knowledge — I assure you I can take every article
which has changed in value in the last ten years and 1 can show you a set of distinct, definite
reasons why that price level has changed. The people of the United States are becoming
more highly educated — what I term "the people," by which we mean the great mass of the
people beneath the professional, beneath the merchant class; the great mass of the people are
becoming more prosperous. Labor earns more for a day's woric than ever before in this land.
They demand more comforts and a higher grade of public service. The municipalities have
increased the water suppUea, tlie number of schools, the parks and all kinds of improved
Digitized byGoOgIC
278 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
conditions in the cities in which people live. What is the rcaultT Munioip&l taxation has tn-
creaeed, and the municipal taxation is abaoibed in the rent roll.
Now, there is one item. Take the other great item, that of meat. I come from the wes-
tern countiy, and I assure you, gentlemea, that it is simply a change in the ratio of the nuiubv
of consumerB to the number of nn'TiBl" That is all there is to the meat propoaitioik. (Ap-
Now, gentlemen, there has been a great deal of talk about the high cost of living which
is based on an incorrect statement of facts and conception of the situation. You can buy to-
day on one of the streets of Boston a better pair of shoes for S4 than you could buy in 1880.
You can buy a barrel of flour in any one of the grocery stores of the city of Boston to-day
juHt aa cheap aa you could in 1885. Now the people are more extravagant, and furthenn<H«
— I will say it myself, because I can look back to my boyhood days — the people to-day
haven't got the thrift, they haven't got the saving instinct that our fathers had.
The President: Profeeeor Tattsbio.
Pnf. F. W. Taussig, Harvard Vnieersity
Mr. Fresideat and Gentlemen of the Cimference, the sole question which preaents itaelf
to this gathering on this topic is whether we shall agree that this b a raatt«r which concerns
not one country but all the countries of the civilized world, and indeed all the world. We are
not here to consider questions of causes or of remedies. It may be that the gentleman who
has preceded me could present to an international conference a full, complete and exhaustive
answer to all the questions that concern themselves with the cost of living. If ao, I am eon
we hope he will do so if such a conference is called. Some of us believe that the subject is
more complicated than it seems to him, that it deserves consideration not by one countiy but
by all the countries. We believe there are difficulties more particularly with reference to as-
certaining just what the situation is. The admirable report which has been presented by the
National Hungarian Ck>mmercial Association suggests certain methods of ctxcpiling price sta-
ttaticB to be adopted uniformly by all the different countries. Those methods deserve con-
sideration because we do not now know what is the extent of the change, — whether it is
greater in the United States than in Germany, whether it is true, as some people think, that
it is greater in the United States than in any other country. These things we do not koow.
In order to gain fair and full light upon the subject we ikeed an international undeistaitding
as to the ways of ascertaining the extent of the phenomerton. Therefore it seems to me that
tiiis gathering can very well say "Let us take the initial step for an international conference
for the uniform consideration of the subject, and let us not here attempt a discussion of why,
how, how much, what any individual understands or what any iitdividual proposes to do
about it." I hope the motion in favor of the calling of an international conference will pre-
vail. (Applause.)
Tha PresldMit: Mr. Cook.
Hi. F. W. Cook, DudUy (EtieSand) Chamber of Commerce
Mr. President and Gentlemen, I strongly support the proposition that has been made,
that an International Conference be called on this question. In our own country a large dis-
cussion has been taking place with regard to the question of tariffs, and the booida of trade
have been charged with the duty of going into various countries and trying to ascertain aa
far as possible what we call the standard of living or the prices of articles in the various coun-
tries. And the great factor that you have to consider is that you have a mass of evidence in
front of you gathered from various sources and in different manners, but which ia not at all
comparable. What is wanted is a standard, a unit, from which the cost of living can be
,y Google
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 279
taken, on which bb a basis all your arguments can take place. A recent speaker, I think the
speaker before the last, spoke about the high cost of Uving, but he also referred to the high
standard of living, and that haa to be acknowledged at the same time. I think certainly his
contribution to our discuseion this morning deserves some consideration from that point of
view. It is Dot what we get, — it is the standard of our living, — the picture palace, if you
like to take it, which ia a necenity of the woiking man of to^y, and the whole range of
hixury which he now brings into his standard of Uving, And I think in any statistics that are
gatihered for this purpose it would be wise, at any rat«, for the Conference to have Uie stand-
ard of living in front of them as well as the high cost of living.
The Professor who read his paper spoke about the question of the dollar, I am not here
to speak with regard to the question of the gold dollar, because, having been in the United
StBtes many times, I have never seen one yet, and I have always found the price of a green-
back is always the same. So it seems to me the question of gold is solved in a very easy man-
ner, if you abolish it and use paper as the medium of exchange.
And another matter t^t seems to strike me is this: That the tariff is certainly a ques-
tion. I think if the United States had free trade, — I am only suggesting my own view, —
ecnnetiiing might be accomplished.
I only give these just as partial suggestions as to some of the things that may take place.
But the main point is this, — that in any International Conference not only should they con-
aider the imit of the cost of living in the various countries, but they should also conidder the
standard of living, — that is, the requirements of the ordinary population, what they con-
sider their life.
The Prestdont: Mr. PruiNx.
Hr. B. A. Fllene, Botbm Chamber of Commerce; Vice-Preeident of the Congreu
I bad not intended to speak on this question, but I have been frightened lest the elo-
quence of my friend Mr. Canby may have undue influence, and that the implication of the
gentleman on the left that this was not a business queation might also have undue influence.
Gentlemen, there is no more important business question than this. No business man
can succeed unless he has fairly stable conditions, and the stable conditions are largely de-
pendent on the stability of the government under which the business man woriu. Now, gentle-
men, I submit to you that no government in the world, be it republican or imperial, whatever
its form, ia safe if the proletariat finds it difficult or impossible to get food, clothing and
shelter, — and on that basiH, gentlemen, I submit to you Uiat this is the most businesslike of
businees questions and deserves to be studied not alone for that reason but because in its
solution *e business men wiU have a large say. If it seems to us that this is a theoretical
and a vague question, I call your attention to what is happening all over the world. In order
not to infringe upon other countries, the sensitivenesB of other countries, let me call attention
to what has happened in this country. Within five-years, gentlemen, these questions, which
were termed vague, unbusinesslike, anarchistical, if you please, by very many men, have
come from that undefined realm to be the very questions which are at the basis of the plat-
form of our poUtical parties, on which we are waging our presidential election. Now, gentle-
men, we know that a similar thing is happening in all countries of the world. Nothing, I
repeat in ckwing, is more buainesalike, nothing will conserve for us what is justly due to us
as business men and will help us to do our duties to our cotmtry mote than to make sure that
the great mass of the people in every country shall get all our help, so that the cost of living
will not be so high as to be insupportable.
H. la President: Je n'ai plus d'orateure inacrita, et je m'excuse si, lors de la discussion
pr£c6dente, certains orateurs n'ont paa eu leur tour de parole. C'est, ^videmment, qu'ila
n'avaient pas iXk inacrita. C'est trte involontairement de ma part si quelques-uns oat £t£
oubli^.
Digitized byGoOgIC
2S0 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
(TVonsIdtMrn)
I bave no more speakers on my list, and tnut I shall be excused if, during the
discussion, certain speakers have not had a chance to take the floor. If such has been
the case, it is evidently because they were not listed. It was entirely involuntary aa
my part if certain apeakere have been overlooked.
U. Pierson: Je demande la parole.
iTiwulation)
I adc the floor.
U. le President: M. PniBSON a la parole.
{Trarulalion)
Mr. FiEBSOH has the floor.
Hr. J. Pierson, Member oj the Neiherkmda Chamber <tf Commerce, Parii
Mr. Chairman, Gentlemen, it is a great pleaaute to tne to have an opportunity to sup-
port Uie proposal of Prof. Irving Fisher, but only to a certain eictent, vie, as far as it con-
cerns the plan for an international inquiry on the cost of living.
A well-known European economist has said:
"Le meilleur remMe centre la cherW c'est la chert*."
The best remedy against the rise in cost of living is the rise in cost of living.
The actual continual rise in price of all products is due to various causes, aotae people
attributing it to the greater production of gold, and Professor Fisher seems to be one of them.
For my part I think that the rise is mainly due to the higher standard of living and the greater
requirements of all classes.
At a recent meeting of the "SociSt* d'fioonomie Politique," a French economist has read
a p^>er on this question, and it results from his investigations that there are, or better have
been, constant waves of prices going up and going down at very regular intervals and for
periods of several years.
We have now a few years since reached the bottom of one of these waves and are going
up again.
As in various countries this question has been very seriously discussed by the most emi-
nent economists. I think that there will be a great advantage to bring these economists to-
gether in an international congress and "du choc des id£es jaillira la viiitA."
There is one thing, however, gainst which I wish to warn. It would be a great danger
for the cause of free trade, which, notwithstanding the protectionist tendency of the whole
world, will have to come to the front again (I am thoroughly and firmly convinced of it), to
attribute the rise in prices to protectionism. This, however, docs not say that free intetoourae
between nations will not reduce prices. Free intercourse will enlarge the fiekl. The larger
the field, the greater will be the development of division of labor, and the more intense the
division of labor will be the lower will be the cost of commodities produced, the greater viD
be the number of people that will see the prices of commodities come within the reach of
their purchasing power.
As the greeting, kindly sent to ns by the Boston Chamber of Commerce, requested our
endeavors to get a bettor knowledge of international economic conditions and problems, I
think the proposal of Professor Fisher must have the full support of this Congress as far as
regards the International Congress for examination of the causes of the high cost of living.
But let me express a wish and permit me to say that I hope that this question of reduc-
tion of the cost of production will abo be examined from the standpoint of a freer intercourse
between nations so as to come to a more stable basis for intereourse than is now ruling with
the absence of commercial treaties.
.Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 281
H. I« PrMdoit: Messieurs, il n'y a plus d'orateuis iuBcrita, je vais mettre vox voix lea
risolutiona. Lea voici en frangaie:
{Tmntialion)
Gentlemen, there are no more speakera on the list. I will put the resolutions to ft
vote. Here they are in French:
Le coDgrds approuve la proposition de r^unir une conference intemationale au sujet du
prix &sv6 dee choses n^ceasaires k la vie, de son augmentation, de aes causes, dea eSeto qui en
r^eultent, des mesuree et remMea possibles en vue a'une amelioration.
Le coogt^ tranamet le projet et le rapport de I' Association nationale commerciale Hon-
groiso pour la compilation narmonique de la statistique des prix au comity permanent, en
vue de sa prise en consideration et de sa remise £ventuelle k une conference intemationale.
(The resolutton in English)
The Congress approves the proposition
auestion of the high cost of living, its mcrease,
oiea possible to improve the situation.
The Congress transmits the project and the report of the Hungarian National Commercial
Association, for the uniform compilation of statistics of prices, to the Permanent Committee,
with the view of its takii^ it into consideration and referring it eventually to an international
conference.
(TAe TeaolvHon in Gertnan)
Der KongreQ billigt den Vorschlag einer intemationalen Konfereni fiber die Teuerung,
ihien Umfang, die Methoden aie featKUStellen, ihra Ursachen und Wirkungen und die m5g-
lichen Mafiregeln fOr Abhilfe.
Der KongreS beschlieGt, die Resolution und den Bericht dea Nationalen Ungarischen
Handelsvereins dber eine gleichmfiBige Preis-Statistik dem st&ndigen Komitee zu Qberweisen,
damit ee aie erwige und einer etwa zu berufenden intemationalen Konferens untetbreito.
Que ceux qui sont d'avis d'adopter ces propositions veuiUent bien lever la main. [Leeit
de mavM.) L'ipreuve contraire. Le congr&a adopte i. I'unanimite.
(Trantlatvm)
Those in favor of adopting these propositions wiU raise the hand. [Handt raised.')
Contrary minded. The Congress adopts the resolutions unanimously.
INTERNATIONAL ASBITRATION
H. le President: Maintenant, mesaieure, avant de t«nniner notre ordre du jour, avant
de parler de I'endroit du prochain congi^, avant d'adresser k tous lea remerciementa que j'ai
jl cceur de vous adresser, j'ai une proposition i, vous faire. Je vous faie cett« proposition,
messieurs, non pas tant comme president oEBciel que comme Tun dea deiegu^s du congrte
venu d'Europe, parlant en son nom et au nom de nombreux congresaistes d&ireux de donner
aux congressistes d'Amerique la satisfaction qu'ils att«Ddent, et que ikous leur avons d'ailleurs
toujours reaerv6e au sujet de leuis d£airs k propoa dea questions d'arbitrage.
Juaqu'i present, les congrte out itt conduits en fr&njaia, et en Europe, quaud le franfais
est parie, il est compris par la majority dea auditeura. II n'ea est pas de m6me ici, et c'est
evidemment k cause de ce fait que certains malentendua, que je vais effacer compl£t«ment,
aoyei-en eOr, out pu se produire. J'ai tenu jusqu'JL present k parler frangaia, mais tantAt je
m'ezprimeni en anglais, mon anglais & moi. D n'eet peut-dtre pas iria bon, maia je le parle
Eh bionl messieurs, dans cett« grande question de I'arbitrage, vous avei, il y a deux
jours, adopts les oondusiona du rapport pripate sur les diSerends entrea partiouliers et £tatB.
Digitized byGoOgIC
282 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
G'^tait la seule question £tudi6e et prSparte. Je tous oi dit aloiB que t'autre question, U
seconde, celle de I'aibitrage entre particuliere de diff&^nts pays, et la troisi&ne, la plue gnnde,
U plus haut«, celle de I'arbitrage g£n£ral entre les nations, £taient d&ns nos cohub k tous, et
que si nous n'avions paa de rapport pt^par^, parce que lea questions n'^taient pas k I'ordre du
jour, Dous ^tions tous d^aireux de tous dire bien haul que nous sommea c«nme tous parti-
sans des admirablea institutions d'aibitrage, et que nous sommes conune vous ddsireux de
voir les atrocity de la guerre ne plus jamais reparaltre sur la surface du globe.
Messieurs, c'est dans cet ordre d'id^s — et j'espire avoir efface les malentendua — que
je propose, i. titre personnel et parlant au nom de beaucoup de d61£guto ^tntngera — et si,
messieurs, ma pri^re peut avoir une action hut eux, je demanderais & tous les diV^aia ttnif
gets, quels qu'ils eoient, de donner ime preuve de reconnaissance aux Am^ricains nombreuz,
dans le beau pays desquels nous eommes en ce moment, en vot&nt k I'unanimit^ la resolution
que je vais vous presenter. La voici:
"Le congr^ affirme son diair de voir r^unir auseitAt que possible des conferences int«T^
nationales officielles qui sssuretont de nation & nation I'eriHt^nce de juridlctions arbitnlee
conQuea dans le sens le plus large et de nature k assurer une solution^quitable & tous conflits
int^nationauit, soit entre nationaux d'£tats difKrents, soit entre les Etats. Et le congrte d^
cUre adherer au principe d'une combinaison de nations, 1& et oti ce serait possible, pour s'ef-
forcer d'empdcher les atrocity de la guene."
Voil&, messieurs, le texte de la proposition que je vous fais. (Appltntdit»em«nU.) Je
crois avoir rencontr^ les d^sirs de tous. Et si, peutrttre, au bout de trois jours, vous en £tce
arrive i, me suivre quand je parle le franfais, je m'£viteiai la peine de riptier en anglaiw-
Sinon, si vous le d6aireB,
{Pretident Canon-Legnnd amehided hie gpeech in Englith.)
(_Tran»lation)
Now, Gentlemen, before finiHhing our order of the day, before speaking of ibo meet-
ing place of the next Congress, before expressing the thanks which I have in my heart
to express to you, 1 have a proposition to make you, I make you this proposition,
gentlemen, not so much as tlie ofBcial president as one of the del^ates to this CongrCM
from Europe, speaking in his own name and in the name of numerouH members of tbe
Congress, desirous of giving to their oollesgues of America the satisfaction that tbey
await, and that we have moreover always reserved for them, on the subject of Uieir
desire in regard to these questions of arbitration.
Hitherto the Congresses have been conducted in French, and in EuK^, when
French is spoken, it is understood by the majority of the hearers. It is not the same
here, and it is evidently on account of this fact that certain misunderstand inpi have
been created, which I am going to wipe out completely, you may be sure of that. I
have continued up to this time to speak French, but soon I will express myself in EngliA
— my English. It perhaps is not very good, but I will speak it myself.
Well, gentlemen, in this great question of arbitration you adopted day before yes-
terd^ the conclusions erf the report prepared in regard to controversies between indi-
viduals and States. That was the only question studied and prepared. I said to you
then that the second question, that of arbitration between mdividuals of different
countries, and the third, the greatest, the highest, that of general arbitration betwetti
nations, was in the hearts of us all, and that if ne had not had the report prepared —
because these questions were not on the order of the day — we were all desirous of tell-
ing you emphatically that we with you are partisans of the admirable institution of
arbitration, and that we Uke you are desirous of seeing the atrocities of war reappear
no more on tbe surface of the globe.
Gentlemen, it is with this idea — and I hope to have effaced the misunderstand-
ings — that I propose, in my peraonal ctQ>acity and speaking in the name of many
foreign delegates, to offer a resoluton. If, gentlemen, my prayer can have an effect
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 283
upon them, I will aak all the for«igD del^Eites, whoever they may be, to give a proof
of their gratitude to the numerous Americans in this beautiful country in which we are
at this moment, by voting with unanimity for the resolution- which I am going to pre-
srait you. It is this:
"The Congress affirms it« desire to see convene, as soon as possible, official interna-
tional conferences which will assure between nations the existence of arbitral jurisdiction
conceived in the widest sense of the tens, and of a nature t« assure an equitable solution
of all international diaputee, either between individuals of different States or between the
States themselves, llie Congress declares its adherence to the principle of a combina-
tion of nations, when and where posssible, to endeavor to prevent the atrocities of war."
That, gentlemen, is the text of the proposition which I make you. (Applause.) I
believe I have met the wishes of all. And if periiaps at the end of three days you
have become able to follow me when I speak French, I will spare myself the trouble
of repeating in English. However, if you desire it,
(fJonHnumg in Englith)
I would state that all the miBunderstandingB come from this fact — that we hsd a dis-
cussion about the quite well-settled matter of an arbitration court between individuals and
foreign States. That question had been completely reported and we were prepared to ask a
vote on it. As to the other two questions, the one about an arbitration court between in-
dividuals of different nations, was not prepared, but we all agree with you iu saying it wiU
be a very good thing to have as soon as possible an arbitration court to settle those matters
between individuals of different nations. About the question of arbitration between the
States, I said from the b^inning — as I spoke French perhaps I was not well imdeistood
— I said from the beginning about the question of aibitration between the States that we
all agreed with you that it will be the best thing of all (appUaae) by all means to prevent in
the future the atrocities of war. ("Hear, heart" otuI renewed appUmie.)
Now, gentlemen, I hope I have been quite well understood, and if you do not fiii4 it
necessary to translate the reeolution into three languages — because I only wrote it in French
— I would read it again, and of course before paseiDg to the vote I will permit those gentle-
men who will second the motion to speak. I repeat the motion, and I hope you will all un-
derstand me'
"The Cong^ress sfBrms its desire to see convene, as soon as possible, official international
conferences, which will assure between nations the existence of arbitral jurisdiction conceived
in the widest sense of the term, and of a nature to assure an equitable solution of all inter-
national controversies, either between individuals of different States or between the States
tliemselvee. The Congress deolares its adherence to the principle of a combination of nations,
when and where possible, to endeavor to prevent the atrocities of war." (Applaase.)
Mr. R. S. Fraser, London Chamber of Commerce
Mr. President and Gentlemen, I think we ought to congratulate ourselves upon such a
very succeesful termination of this Congress in the remaikable and satisfactory speech to
which we have just listened. To me it is a matter of the greatest possible satisfaction that
the subject has been dealt with.
I now have to submit to you, perhaps pro forma only, a few propositions of a concrete
character for your adoption. They are as follows. It will not take me two minutes to read
"]. The general spread of culture has served to exalt commerce from the subordinate
social position assigned to it by tradition and requires that merit should alone regulate a man's
order of precedence.
"2. Commercial men of to-day owe their very exaatence to the conflict which their foie-
fathers waged through successive centuries in repelling the forces of reaction. This conflict
must be continued if the waivcloud which darkens our horizon is to be dispelled.
Digitized byGoOgIC
284 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
" 3. An international campaign is needed against medieval feudaliflm which has, within
recent years, grown aogressive fcieyood all reasonable limits. It is not merely a question o£
national defense, but the larger proposition of international defense, which claims attention.
" Tie official world should be mformed by the representatives appointed by the several
governments attending this Congress that it must adjust itaelf to the requirements of inter-
national life, and abandon the minor conceptions of provincial politics.
"3a. Commercial men realize to the full the limitations of politicians and diplomatists,
and that it is for the commercial world to take its destinieB into its own hands and do their
thinking for themselves as to the problems of to-day, including the organisation of peace, of
which commercial arbitration is an integral and not the least part. Indeed, it may be claimed
that commercial arbitration constitutes the foremost plank in the platform of world-wide peace
and solidarity.
"It is claimed that the interests of commerce, which provide so great a proportion of
taxation, are neglected by the official world save where taxation is affected. In tiie future,
ministries of commerce, commensurately staffed on a scale equal at least to tiiat assigned to
other ministries, should exercise controUing power in all countries.
" 4. That tne principles of Efficiency Engineering recently introduced into the univeisities
of the United States, for systematizing plant and the machmery of business and getting the
most out of everything, should be exercised by the ministries of commerce in the future to the
advancement of commerce and industry, and the upbuilding of the common weal.
"5. That conferenceasuchas that of this association serve to epitonuEe the well-considered
judgment of the commercial world, and consistency requires that the principles approved by
the accredited representatives of the commercial countries represented should r^ulate tl^
future action of such constituent States."
Sir, I thank you for the opportunity to submit these propositions in support of your
resolutions. (Applause.)
Mr. Jacob Heilbom, London Chamber of Commeree
Mr. President, you have bo ably presented the resohition in French and English to this
Congress that I believe every member understands it. Sir John E. Bingham is here. Vou
have asked for a second to that resolution. I move that Sir John Bingham be now given the
floor to second that resolution.
The President: The consul general of Japan has asked the floor to speak on this sub-
ject in a letter which I have received from him. However, he does not respond. Sir Jobs
E. BlNQBAU.
Sir John B. Bingham, Bait., London Chamber of Commerce
Mr. President, after your eloquent expressions on this subject I shall be brief. I am
proud that you have taken up this subject as you have. I think it is the apex, I might almost
say, of this great meeting. I think it should be, as it were, written in letters of gold, that we
are all in this Congress, a combination of the nations of the world met here t^^ther, of one
mind that when and where possible we should endeavor to prevent the atrocities of war.
["Hear, kearl" and applaute.)
I was prepared, gentlemen, — but it turned out not to be in order — to send forwatd
this resolution myself. In that I was supported by the concert of the London Chamber of
Commerce and also of my native city of Sheffield. But I am prouder still that I do not bring
forward this resolution, but that the President himself has brought it forward and has honored
this convention by ""tlfing it a resolution from his own lips. {Applatue.) ''. \
I hope, and 1 know, that all of you gentlemen here present at this conference will exer-
cise all over the world, in the countries which you represent, that power which you have and
which it is to your interest, as representing the commercial intetesta of the world, more than
to the interests of others, to exercise; for a war between two great nations might eet back the
commerce of the world for fifty years or more. Therefore, it is to your interest to support,
to back the resolution of our President and to give ban voyage to the resolution. (AppJouse.)
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 285
Hr. Fnnk D. La Lanae, PhOadeipKia Board of TraiU
Mr. PreeideDt and GeDtkmen, I consider it a distmguiahed honor to be pennitted to
address you in the closing minutes of this Hession. I think we abould all feel higtily gratified
that this principle, so near to the heart of every delist* from every nation, should have been
recopiized by our distinguished President, and that he himself should have brought in this
resolution, which I have high honor in seconding.
I represent the United States Government, and I have received two letters from the
Department of State, of which I will give a synopsis.
To-day more than ever the executive of the world is public opinion, and the nations of
the world cannot disregard the words of a great Congress like this, which represents the sen-
timents of all the busincBB world. Your decision to^y to approve of this principle will be
known in every chancellery of the world to-night, and I sincerely hope, gentlemen, that we
are a unit in the thought that the continuity of the business iuI«restB of the world demand
that there shall be an arbitral court of justice to prevent future wars, which destroy our
lives commercially.
The Secretary of State of the United States, whom I represent, the Hon. Philander C.
Knoi, directs me to say that the responses to his note along this identical line, sent out a few
months ago as a circular note to all the nations of the world, manifest such a willingness and
desire on the part of the leading nations to constitute a court of arbitral justice, that he be-
lieves a pennanent court, of purely judicial arbitral responsibihty, competed of judges acting
with a sense of their responsibility and representing the various nations, will be establiahed
in the very near future. The assent and approval of this Congress will be highly appreciated
by my government.
Gentlemen, I thank you.
H. 1« Prlsident: M. Shoninger a demands la parole.
Ur. Benurd J. Shoninger, American Chamber of Commerce of Paris
Mr. President and Gentlemen, my desire to remove a misunderstanding having become,
unwittingly as well as unwillingly on my part, the point of departure for rather unexampled
behavior on the part of some one else later, I think it now behooves me to express myself and
to say how much satisfaction and how much extreme pleasure it gives me that the President
himself shouki have taken the initiative, of which you see the result in these resolutions.
{Applaase.)
Owing to the experience we have had in connection with this matter, it has been sug-
gested by a nimiber of the delegates, my colleagues, that a word might be said at this point.
This matter is to be submitted for future consideration, and I beg leave to read these, so that
they can be put upon the order of business for another Congress. In the light of experience
at this Congress, and to avoid misunderstandings and disappointments in the future, we will
submit the following propositions for study and consideration: "All papers" —
Mr. F. W. Cook, J. P. (Dwiiey, England): Mr, President, is this in order before the
resolution is put? 1 rise to a point of order; we have business pending before the body
Hr. S&oningar: I am coming to it.
The President: Will you finish in a minute?
Ut. Sboningar: This will take two nunutes.
Digitized byGoOgIC
286 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Sir Joseph Lawrence: I move that the fitst resolution be put to the meeting.
Mr. Shoningei: If you wiU permit me, I will afterwards take the floor, becauae my
intention woe merely to say a word becauae of my innocence in having —
Sir Joseph Lawrence: The reaolutiou first. (CrU» of "VoUl Qutttuml")
Mr. Shoninget: Take the vote and then the matter can be explained further.
The President: I have a final request from a del^ate from China, Dr. Chin-tao Cbea.
Is he here?
Dr. Cbln-tao Chen, M.S.: I want to apeak on another queetion which will come aft«r
thia motion is di^>osed of.
M. le ft'isident: Je vous propose maintenant le vote de la resolution dont je vais dtmner
lecture dans les trois Ungues.
Ceuz qui sont d'avia d'adopter la rteolutioa voudrMit bien lever la main. (Levte d«
maint.) L'^preuve contraire. (f srMmnc ne Uue la main.)
{Crude "Hip! Hip I Hourrakt Hipl Hipt HemrrtAI" ApfimidinemenU.)
{TranOaHtm)
I win now present to you for vote the resolution which I will have read in the three
languages. {RndvUon read in tkrtt Jan^uaga.)
Those in favor of adopting the resolution will please raise their bands. (Baitini/ tf
handt.) Those opposed. {No handi raited.)
(Cheers and applause.)
invrTATions for the next cohorbss
H. le KMdent: Maintenant, messieurs, en terminant nos travaux, je dois vous daoscr
oonnaiasance des invitations qui nous sont parvenues pour le prochain congrte.
{TransloHon)
Now, Gentlemen, in closing our labors I wish to advise you of the invitatioos, wfaidt
have come to us for the next Congress.
{Coniimiing in Englith)
Our next meeting will be held in two years. We have received an invitation from
Barcelona, Spain, from Geneva, Switierland, from Amsterdam, Holland, from Monoeo
(latvAier), from Leipaig, Germany, and from Lisbon, Portugal. As a rule, the choice of the
next place for the seaaion is given to the Permanent Committee. I suppose, as we have so
many invitations, it would be a good thing at this time to leave the question in the hands
of the Permanent Committee to decide. Do you agree?
(There being no diaaenl, U vxu decided to leow the ettoiee of the next place for meeting to
the Pennanent CommiUee.)
Mr. Pilese; Gentlemen, we have an invitation from the merchants of St. Louis, that
all delegates may come to visit them. They assure you a good time. You will find it printed
in full in the Boaltm Chamber of Commerce Newt to-morrow.
{The tetegram referred to iom aefollouit:)
„Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 287
St. Loum, Sept. 25, 1912.
Mr. Altbxd Aslett,
Chambers of Commerce, Boston, Maaa.
St. Louis has extended a coidial invitation to membeta of the CongresB to visit St. Louie,
and our Buainefis Men's League will moat heartily entertain wliatever number of representa-
' tives visit us. I trust to greet you and all the friends of the Campania and all others who will
accompany you. Please see that the members of the Congress are made aware of the invitation.
Wire answer at my expense, care the Business Men's League.
(^ifftitd) Goodman Eino.
H. le PrSBident: M. T.*7*Rn a la parole pour une motion d'ordre.
iTrantkUUm)
Mr. Laiaiid has the floor for a point of order.
CONTRIBUTION FOR THE POOR OF BOSTON
Ht. LooJs Luard, Chamber of Comvierce, Brusteh: Since we landed in the beautiful city
of Boston we have been most cordially received. Our hoate, who are full of verve and chum,
have managed for the delegates the most wonderful reception. (ilppIauM.) All of us appn-
ciate very highly their kindness and their attentions. Although knowing well the American
hospitality, the way we have been treated is above all expectation. {"Hear, hear/") And
how cao we foreigners return the courtesies extended to usT It is too late now to organise
a banquet. The Brussels delegation, on behalf of which I am speaking, wants to suggest that
the visiting membeia of the Congress open a subscription, the full amount of which would
be turned over to the Honorable Mayor for the poor of Boston. {Apptawe.) Thus doing,
we should ally charity to thankfulness, and I hope our Boston friends would tqipreciate our
donation. If our proposition goes through — as I sincerely hope and expect — I should
suggest that the Committee make the necessary arrangements for collecting the eontribution
— the amount of which, in our opinion, should be fixed at S5 each. (Applame.)
M. le Pi(Bld«nt: Je prie, pour notification, ceux d'entre vous qui voudiont bien se rendre
& I'invitation de M. Lasard, de s'adresser au secretaire. II est ctair que nous ne pouvons
obliger personne.
{TranOaHon)
As a matt«r of information, I would like to ask those of you who wish to accept
the invitation of Mr. Laiard to advise the Secretary. It is clear that we cannot
oblige any one to do Uiis.
TERUINATION OF THB SESSION
H. le IVfisident; Maintenant, messieurs, je me live pour terminer la session et poor
adresscr k tous les remerciements auxqiiels ils ont droit.
Je remercie tout d'abord le president des £tats-Unis, M. Taft, qui nous fait I'honneur
ce soir, d'etre present au banquet de cl6ture.
Je remercie les autorit^s de l'£tat du Massachusetts, en la personne du gouvemeur, que
nous avons £t£ heureux de rencontrcr; et la citS de Boston, en la personne de son maire, que
nous avons pu appr^cier depuis notre arrive 4 Boston.
Je remercie tous les d£l£gu4s officiels des gouvernements, qui ont bien voulu par leur
presence rehausser I'^lat de cette c^r^monie intemationale et mondiale.
Ts, tout Bp^cialement la Chambre de commerce de Boston. Four
Digitized byGoOgIC
288 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
elle, je 1'^ dit diji, et je me propose de la redire ce Boir, nous n'avons pae de mots euffisanta
pour exprimer nos Bentimenta.
Je remercie tkuesi lea industrieb qui nous regoivent, qui nous ouvi«at toutes l&rgee !«■
portes de leurB uaines et qui noija montt«roDt lea merveilles de I'industrie et de la ocienoe
amSricainea.
Je remercie, messieurs, toua lee clubB de la ville, qui nous out si agr^ablement donnC le
libre aocfs de leurs locaux.
Nous nous Gentons absolumeitt chei nous et nous emporterone de Boston un souvenir
inefFa^able.
En fin, last but not Uaat, je remercie la prease, lea jouraalistes, cea travailleura de tous les
instants, qui ont, eux, le hard labor, alors que nous, nous sommea en banquets et en r^jouis-
sance. Je reconnais tout leur tile. Et k voua tous, au nom des diHgaie venus de tous les
coins du monde pour assister & ce merveilleux congrts de Boston, de tout mon coeur, je vou>
dis: merci.
(TTattlatum)
Now, Gentlemen, I rise to close the session and to express to all the tlianks to which
they are entitled.
I thank first of all the President of the United States, Mr. Taft, who will do us the
honor this evening to be present at our cloeing banquet.
I thank the authorities of the State of Maaaachusetts in the person of the
Governor, whom we have been delighted to meet; and the City of Boston in the person
of its Mayor, whom we have learned to appreciate since our arrival in Boaton.
I thank all the official delegates of the govenmtents, who have by their presence
heightened the brilliancy of this international and world-wide ceremony.
I thank, gentlemen, most particutariy, the Chamber of Commerce of Boston. As I
have already aaid and as I propose to repeat this evening, we can find no words sufficient
to express our sentiments.
I thank also the manufacturers who welcome ue, who open wide to us tbe doorv of
their establishments and wiU display to us the marvels of American industry and aciemce.
I thank, gentlemen, all the clubs of the city who have so kindly given us Uie liberty
of their houses.
We feel ourselves absolutely at home, and we shall carry away indelible memories
of Boston.
Finally, "last but not least," I thank the press, the joumalists, these unceasing
workers who have for their part the "hard labor" while we ourselves are at the banquets
and entertainments. I appreciate their seal. And to you all, in the name of the
delegates gathered from aU the comers of the world to attmid thia wonderful Congress
of Boston, with all my heart I say: I thank you.
Mr. Filene: One moment, gentlemen, please — Sir Joseph Lawxxnci. (Applauta.)
Sir Joseph Lawrence: Gentlemen, on behalf and in the name of you all I must, in the
name of the London Chamber of Commerce, probably the oldest Chamber of Commerce in the
world, propose a cordial vote of thanks to our distinguished President, M. CaDoo-Legrand,
and to thank him (or the dignity and efficiency with which he has conducted the proceedings.
As a former member myself of the British House of Commons 1 have winced sometimes
under the rulings of the Speaker of my own House. Many of us have winced under his rulings.
but we have always recognised at the end of a session not only his general courtesy but his ab-
solute impartiality and fairness. In that sense, gentlemen, whatever ripplee may have passed
over the surface of our proceedings, we all recognise that the Preaident of the gathering, this
world-wide Congress, has endeavored to conduct the proceedings for the best e£Bciency of
all concerned. {"Hear, htarl" and applauae.)
In that spirit of thankfulneaa, I ask you to join with me in according him your heartiest
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 289
tiunks for the way in which he tuts presided over the proceedii^ of this conference. I do not
think that that needs really to be put in the form of a motion. It hardly needs to be seconded.
If you ^Kiuld agree with the spirit of the motion —
Ur. FQen«: It is going to be seconded by Mr. Shoninger, in a moment, and then the
motion can be put.
Ut. ShoningeiT: Mr. President, as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in
France, representing American and also French interests, I heartily second the motion which
has now been made. I will leave it to Sir Joseph Lawrence to take th^ vote, which I know
must be unanimous on the subject. (Applauie.)
Sir JOB«ph Lawrence: Gentlemen, those of you who are in favor of that motion will
signify the same by acclamation.
(The motum tnu imanimoialy carried by aedamation, amid applavae.)
Mr. H, Z. Osborne (Zos Angelet) : Mr. President and Members of the Congress, speaking
as a delegate from the Chamber of Commerce of the City of Los Angeles, of which I have
tlie honor to be president, but apeaking still more for that great organization of survivors of
the great Civil War of fifty yeais ago, of which organization I have the honor to be the second
officer, 1 wish to say that the action of this Congress taken this day meets with the hearty
approval of the 500,000 survivors of the Civil War of 1861-1865, who knew full well all the
horrors of war. Gentlemen, on their behalf 1 thank you for this expression in favor of univer-
sal peace. iApplaute.)
H. 1« President: La stance est lev£e.
The Preeident declared the Congress adjourned at 1.20 p
Digitized byGoOgIC
„Google
Wt^ ISattQuet
ADDRESS OF JOSEPH B. RUS^LL
Proridoit of Boston Chunber of CommorGO
This is a dajr of great happiness to the Boeton Chamber of Commerce. To-night it seea
ae its guests, not only the many distinguished gentlemen who have gathered together from
the four comers of the earth as delegates to the Fifth International Congress of Chambers
of Commerce of the world, but also the noted men who have come here to join with us in ex-
tending a warm welcome and hearty greetings to our friends. We cordially welcome Uiese
delegates to our city, and to all that our Chamber affords. They truly represent all that is
foremost and best in commercial activitiea — and commercial activities are no longer con-
fined to the narrow realm which marked the past. To-day the grave questions which have
occupied your attention, the broadest and most faNreaching, and such great questions as
that of conservation — and I do not mean the mere conservation of mines, of forests and
of forest streams, but all that pertains to the conservation of human life, of human health
and human energy — are regarded as of supreme importance in all commercial bodies.
Gentlemen, for some two years the Boston Chamber of Commerce has woriced with leal
and industry, first, to bring to our city this distinguished body of men; and when the news
reached us that Boston was chosen for the meeting place for this Congress, then began our
more serious task to leave no stone unturned to make this Fifth Congress ever remembered
by all partic^ting in its deliberations as the most noted meeting in all its succesrful career.
How far we have fallen short in our high ambition we must leave to others, but this was our
wish, this was our hope, and the extent of our failure, whatever it may be, but marks our
lack of knowledge and experience. Our heart and soul were in it, and in all wajrs and from
all directions we received that prompt and willing help which we had a right to expect from
a generous community anxious to honor our noted guests, and to do credit to our own fair
city.
It is a great gratification to have with us to-night the Nation's President to bring to you
the Nation's greeting. (_AppUm»e.) For the lofty office which he so well fills we all have the
most profound respect, and whatever may be our party ties or political faith, the one who
toHlay occupies that high position has personally our admiration and esteem. No matter
how etrenuous may seem our present political struggle, I believe that all reasonable men
do surely recognise in him the high-^ninded statesman, who has weighed the many and intri-
cate problems of govermnent which have come before him, by the standard of highest in-
tegrity and truest sincerity alone. (Apptauw.)
I preaent to you the Pbesidbnt of the United States. (iTteoI applaut*.)
ADDRESS OP HONORABLE WILLIAH B. TAFT
Piwident of the Unit«d States of America
Mr. Chairman, Del^at«s to the International Convention of Chambers of Commerce:
On behalf of the people, the Government and the Congress of the Unit«d States I bid you
welcome. (Apjiaitte.) After the Chamber of Cominerce of Boston had secured the meeting
of this International Convention in this city, then, with that generosity that distinguishes
2S1
Digitized byGoOgIC
292 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Congresa OavghUr), it passed a resolution requesting me to extend a cordis invitation to the
chambers of commerce of the world through their governments, and having extended the
invitation sad secured the acceptance, it referred the matter to the Chamber of Commerce of
the City of Boston vrith power to act. (Prolonged laughter.) And I need not say to you, my
fellow guests, that the reference was to a body competent to meet the obligations of hoepi-
tality. (Chart.)
There are a number of results that I am sure will follow this symbolic gathering of tbe
nerves of trade from the world over. We think we know a good deal in the United States
about everything (laughter), and one of the happy tbings in the future is the number of sur^
prises that are in store for us upon that particular subject. {Benewed Umykter.) And one of
the good results to which I have referred, I hope, is the influence which this convention will
have upon the responsible, governmental authorities and the people of the United States b
convincing them of the necessity of associating in their governmental methods and in finding
out the right courses to pursue in those methods of government that are akin to business
("hear, heart"), — in associating with us the business men in their commercial bodies.
(Appiause,)
We know — that is, some of us know who have had occasion to study the subject — that
the chambers of commerce of oUter coimtries have even an official or a semi-official relation
to the government that gives them a real authority and a real influence in determining the
course of the government in reference to matters that are akin to business {ap^ute), and
that while we all believe in popular government, we believe that some people know more
about some things than other people (laughter and applause), and that the way to help all
the people is to get the information at first hand from those who are beet informed on the
subject. ("Bravo'/" and applaute.)
Now we cannot expect a government to be run exactly as a business establishment is
run. That would be impossible, and it might not be well, either. But there are a great many
methods that have been proven to be useful and necessary in business in accomplishing good
results that might be incorporat«d into our governmental methods in this country. (Ap-
plause.) We have been able to get along so well in this country because there were so many
sources of taxation (^eal laughter), because the surpluses were so frequent that we have not
had the occasion to consult the question of income as much, perhaps, as some countries older
and less fortunately situated with respect to that subject matter. But we are coming to a
time when it seems to me that unless we are to continue to do business as children we ought
to adopt a ^stem of government bookkeeping and have a budget and know what we wish
to spend and know what we have to spend before we go ahead to do either. (Applause.)
Then we are engaged in levying a customs duty and internal revenue. Now I say that
we ought to leam and know before we lay either the customs duty or the internal revenue
what its effect is going to be upon business. (Applause.) We ought to punue the methods
pursued by the foreign governments whose delegates I have the honor to address. We ought
to have bureaus of statistics and accurate information on all the subjects that will enable us
to judge what the effect of laws to be passed will be upon trade and commerce. (Applause.)
Then we have gotten along thus far, with the help of Providence (Uaighter), with a By%-
tem of banking and currency that no man can defend (applause), but that seems the last
subject that Congress wishes to take up. (Laughter.) Now that is a subject matter that
affects every one and affects most nearly the humblest and the poorest and those least able to
protect themselves, and therefore it ought to be disposed of in a scientific we^. The reform
ou^t to be carried on to a successful result by reference to bodies — chambers of commerce,
banking associations and otliers — who are charged with that scientific knowledge of the needs
of trade with reference to currency and banking, BO that when we act we shall act intelli-
gently and act with respect to a matter of greater importance, I think, than possibly any
other that I could mention to this body. (Applau«e.)
So much, my friends, — and there are lots of other things that we can leam from the
foreign delegates here and the methods pursued in those govemmenla with reference to the
„Google
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 293
consultation <^ chambers of commerce, but my time is limited and I wish only to speak of
another subject, not the influence upon this countiy by the coming of these delegates and
these ohambere of commerce, but the influence upon the world of their coming here to meet
us and our meeting them. You come here for trade — to promote trade — and trade is
peace. {"Rear, hvarl" and applituee.) And if trade had no other good thing connected
with it, the motive, the selfish motive in love of trade that keeps off war in order that
trade may continue, is a sufficient thing to keep up trade for. (Apptaum.)
I am not going to bore you with a reference to what can be done toward peace, for I
have talked all over the country on that subject till those of my audience who are American
citisens are tired of it ("no, no") but I believe that we must have some solution of the prob*
lem that arisea and some escape in the future from the burden that is imposed by this iH'
creaaiag armament of nations. {"Hear, heart" and applaute.) And you will never have the
solution until 3^u have furnished some means of certainly and honorably settling evei? in-
ternational controversy, whether of honor or vital interest ("Aeur, hear/"), by a court upon
which all nations may rely. (Great applause.) And if, as I believe, meetings like this stimu-
late the desire and the determination to reach some such result, I hope they may continue
year after year until the dawn of permanent peace shall be with us. (Prdcmged and enthum-
aetic cheering, culminaHrm in three cheari and a "tiger")
President Rnsssll, Botlon Chamber of Commerce
His Excellency the Governor of our state is with us to-night to join in our warm wel-
come to all our honored guests. Some of us thought he might be our next President, but it
seems not to be at ones, and so for him a little longer the pleasures of anticipation; and
what more delightful, especially to one whose hand is already guiding the plow with a pretty
substantial field to keep in ordsr, bearing some weeds and an occasional thistle. {Laughter.)
I present to you HiB Excellxnct the Govebnos of MABSAcHnsETro. {Applauee.)
ADDRESS OF HOHORABLE EUGEIIE N. FOSS
OoT«inor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Gentlemen, this Congress, representing the commerce and the commercial nations of
the world, marics the beginning of a new era for America. It is prophetic of closer trade
relations between this country and the rest of the worid. It constitutes a most effective
pledge for the continuance of amicable international relations, of strongsr business friend-
ships and more effective international undetBtandinga.
You have come to Boston at the time when our entire country is tending toward a broader
eommsrcial policy, a policy which is to take especial c(^;nizance of the foreign trade. In
Massachusetts, as in other sections of the country, we have been passing through a period
of rt^nd organisation and commercial expansion. Our mills and factories have multiplied,
and their product has outgrown our domestic markets. We are seeking an outlet abroad
for oar surplus products. It is, therefore, singularly appropriate that at this juncture the
opportunity should be given us of entertaining the representatives of all the industrial
world; of welcoming them to our industrial centers, acquainting them with New England
and American enterprise, and forming those new business friendships which will remain as
permanent factors in our further growth.
We shall not continue the mistake which for fifty years has marred our commercial
policy. The trade relations which bind the manufacturer of Massachusetts to the mer-
chant of London, Antwerp or Hong Kong must be placed upon a basis of mutual interest.
We an just beginning to realise the necessity of establishing such relations. If we are to
continue the sale of our goods abroad, ws must in turn become purchasers from other
countries.
Digitized byGoOgIC
294 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
It ia fortunate that the recognitioo of these fundamental principles is now uniTsnal in
the United States. This is no longer the exclusive political doctrine of any one party; it ia a
national demand. You will see this demand expressed in its highest tenna in the Panama
Canal; and you will find the same deteimination bringing about the development of the
Port of Boston, and of other great seacoast and inland hatbora on this continent. You win
find boards of public commissionera working on the problem of dredgiog our principal
rivers, and fixing the location of future seaports, not only at the mouths of the rivers,
but, as in Europe, far inland in the heart of great manufacturing centers. We are becom-
ing a maritime people, equipping ourselves to do business with the rest of the worid.
It is a further earnest of this sentiment and of the recognition of the rights of othras
that in the recent Panama Canal Bill, American ships engaged in foreign tmde are given no
selfish advantage over the ships of other countries. (.Apptaute.) The reservation -which
has been established in favor of American-built ships, engaged in coastwise traffic along our
own shores is one which appears to be wholly consistent with established usages. But I
hope that in time the absolute freedom and equality of the Canal to all may become estab-
lished forever as the contribution of the United States to the commerce and progress of civi-
Usation. ( Applause.)
Gentlemen, this Congress comes at a time which is rendered still more significant of
future commercial expansion by our awakening rec<%nitioD of the principle of Reciprocity.
Our foreign guests have come to a country which, during the past half century, has at-
tained a wonderful industrial and financial growth, by reason of that complete reciprocity of
trade which marics the relations of each state with all the others in our Union, Among the
nearly fifty separate governments within the United States each has built up its cconinercial
relations with the others, without restrictions and without fear or favoritiam. Some of these
states exceed in territory the limits of fore^ nations, which have grown to the foremost
commercial rank. Others you will find that exceed in wealth and population some of the
sovereignties of other lands. These states have prospered through reciprocity and mutual
understanding, each profitng by the industrial benefits it has conferred upon the others.
You have come to Massachusetla at a time when we are at last realising that the same
ties should bind us to other peoples and other countries. Massachusetts realises her debt
of gratitude to Preddent Taft for giving official expression to this neglect«d principle. You
will find the people of New England joining with other sections of the country in offering
to Canada a declaration of closer trade relations; and I believe that the lack of these rela-
tions to^ay is due only to transient motives which a stronger mutual confidence will
quickly overcome.
You will find the great industrial centers of Massachusetts and New England (and I
believe of the rest of the country as well), open-minded to the extension of reciprocal trade
treaties to still other nations, in fact to all quarters of the globe, to the greatest degree ocm-
sistent with the mtuntenance of American standards of life and labor. You will witliout
doubt view with interest as a further sign of the times the activity in our great ship-
building centers, and you will find that we ore building right here, within the limits of
Greater Boston, ships that are fitted for all the demands of modem commerce.
You will find the people of Boston aroused to the development of our great seaport.
We recognise m the natural location of Boston, in its wonderful haifoor and the irxluBtrial
communities around it, the logical marine frontier of this country opening toward the great
markets of Europe. We are resolved that Boston shall be equipped in accordance with the
exacting demands of modem commerce to accommodate the merchant fleets of the W4w)d.
We are looking even northward to Canada, believing Boston to be the natural aet^tort fw
the manufacturing and agricultural communities of that country. In anticipation of ckaer
commercial telations with Canada and Europe we have invited to Boston one of the princi-
pal railroads of Canada — the Grand Trunk. You will find the people of Hassachusetls
earnestly resolved to effect the greatest posmble development of marine transportation, not
only coastwise, but tnmsaUantie.
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 295
We ore at the dawn of our own era of commercial expansioD. With the extension of our
foreign trade, and the development of our coastwise and interior waterways, our rivers, canals
ftod baibors, you will find ue fitting ourselves for constantly broadening trade relations with
jTOUiselvefl. The people of this Commonwealth would be proud at any time to welcome
the moat distinguished commercial conference in the worid, but they are particularly grati-
fied that you should have come here to mark for American history the beginning of our
own broader industrial and commercial life. (Applaiue.)
ftvsident RtiaHll, Botton ChanAer of Commerce
His Honor the Mayor of Boston also comes to give you greeting. To ua here he needs
DO introduction. To those from afar I can give assurance that his tireleas energy in all that
tends to the development of our city is an inspiration and a lesson. Another year may see
him sitting in the highest councils of our land; but whether in Washington or in Boston,
wherever he may be, there we know stands a sealous advocate of the interests of our state, a
Jaytl champion for the welfare of our city.
I present to you P>" Honob tbb Mator or Boston. (Applauet.)
ADDRESS OF HONORABU JOHR F. FITZGERALD
Hayoi of the City of Boston
Gentlranen, now that our serious labors are ended, we meet before parting to speak the
finftl words of review and felicitation. The results of this Congress have, I am assured, been
such as to justify the sacrifices which it involved, but above all its concrete enactments and
salutary reforms I place those intangible values that do not figure in the program, but are
incidental to our personal intercourse.
The commerce of ideas, after all, is more generous, or at least more enlightened, than
the commerce of commodities. By one of those paradoxes which are found in the spiritual
life each side wishes the other to be the gainer. This is the amicable traffic in which we have
beeO-engaged during the last few days. We trust that our guests have profited by their visit
to Boston, though it is not for us to say in what manner or to what degree. Our own debt
is certainly so large that we scarcely venture to express it for fear of seeming to exa^erate.
It is enou^ to aay, gentlemen, that your presence has stimulated us to new aspirations and
has awakened larger visions in our hearts and minds.
Such conventions, I repeat, find their highest sanction in the strength which they impart
to the eenee of interdependence among nations, which is, without doubt, their prime motive
and original inspiration. They assume that the whole world of production, credit and ex-
change is in a state of equilibrium so that a disturbance in any one market causes oscillation
over the entire civihzed earth; and this view is amply justified by recent events. The tremors
of the San Francisco earthquake were felt in the insurance companies of London. The war in
Manchuria was reflected in the violent dance of prices on the Paris Bourse. A drought in
India may determine the quotations for wheat in New York, and failures in Argentina have
precipitated a disastrous panic. To preserve the universal stability which is necessary for
the conduct of business is one chief aim of your assen^lies.
What is true of calamities is no less true of benefits. It is conceivable that a traveler
journeying from Portugal to Russia might find a different raihroad gage at every frontier,
but such impediments to the free movement of trade would be a poor expression of patriotism.
A difference of an inch between nation and nation would prevent travel at express speed for
long distances, thereby causing delay, and would compel the needless duplication of rolling
stock, thus increasing coat. In the United States one width of rail prevails across the conti-
nent and the adoption of this uniform standard would be an advantage everywhere. My
illustration is merely imaginary, but the principle is clear. Every device for increasing speed,
Digitized byGoOgIC
296 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
or saving life, or diminiahing the diacmnforts of travel becomes intemationaliied sooner w
lat«r and ceases to be the escluave property of the nation in which it originates. The electrie
engine, the air brake, the refrigemtor car belong to no pe<^e, but diffuse themaelvea with
other beneficial inveotions over the entire norid. It is such a diffusion, not of mere appli-
ances alone, but of fonns and regulations as well, that your Congress aims to promote, as it
eliminates differences and compels local usage to conform to the requirements of the world's
larger interests.
Thia is, after all, only a new application of science to practical affairs. We know what
science has accomplished for agriculture in the study of the chemistry of soils, the selection
of seeds, the relation of birds to the control of peats, sod of bees and other insecta to fertili-
lation. By no magic wand, but through reason and e:q)erieDc« guided by imagination, she
has bidden the earth to t«em with manifold abundance. In manufacturing, mining, forestry,
inigation, drainage and the conservation of water supply, the engineer and the e:q>ert now
ezeroise an tmquestioned authority. Similar studies and the ereation of a similar body at
experts will fortify conmterce in the same degree by reducing waste and cultivating facility
in administrative and fiscal methods. Your collective importance and economic function are
not inferior to those of the other interests which 1 have mentioned.
As it happens, gentl«nen, there is a certain felicity in your visit to Boston whiob has not
been pointed out by any other speaker. I do not know any class that appeals to the peo[^
of this city more than that which you represent. The traditions of our community uphold
the merohant as the hi^ieat type of citisen. The nature of his occupation forbids seclusica
and aloofness, and brings him into personal contact with his feUowmen. Out of the sense of
reciprocal obligation thus created flow those noble benefactions which aro so common in our
history.
Art, scholarship and philanthropy are residuary heirs of the labors and accumulations
of the captains of industry. Franklin, Lowell, Perkins, Carney, Arnold, McKay, Brii^iam,
Porkman, Wentworth — these men of the world cherished to the end something unworldly
And saw through the murk and confusion of the daily struggle the better day that is approach-
ing. They grasped the broad conoeption that wealth is a trust of which all mankind and not
merely a narrow circle should be the beneficiaries. Hospitals, schools, museums and pariu,
free to all, perpetuate their names and offer to future generations examples of a wise libeivlity.
As becomes a city of merchants, the people of Boston are not easily held in subjection.
The first settlers were of the T-ir^ gliwh middle class, industrious, self-sustaining and aggres-
sive. Prom the beginning they displayed a free, indomitable spirit, which awakened alarm,
and at the same time excited admiration among the British statesmen. In the War of Amer-
ican Independence orators of Boston took the lead, and the first pitched battle — the Battle
of Bunker Hill — was fought within the confines of the present city. In the War of 1812
our sailors did not hesitate to challenge the greatest sea power in the world.
A tradition of sympathy with sufferers and freedom lovers eveiywhere grew out of these
early conflicts and has continued to the present day. Whether the iqipeal comes from vic-
tims of natural disasters, such as earthquakes or floods, or refugees from political tyranny,
or apostles of social amelioration, our reqtonse has ever be«i quiok and generous. The
movement to abolish American slavery, for example, may be said to have had its birth in
Boston, and we are about to erect a monument to its foremost orator, Wendell Phillips, the
son of our first Mayor. Faneuil Hall, which some of you may have seen, is affectionately
known all over this country as "The Cradle of Liberty," from the meetings which have
be^ held there in behalf of patriotic and humanitarian causes.
A high sense of civic obligation ia characteristic of the citiiens of Boston. Every class
responds with fervor to the call of public duty. During our Civil War fully half the adult
males served as soldiers. Harvard Univemty alone sent over fifteen hundred volunteers, a
large percentage of its graduates snd students. In times of peace the city drafts into its ser-
vice on the various boards of government able men who labor without compensation for the
good of their fellow citiaens.
Digitized byGoOgIC
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 297
Our appreciation of human values finds no more significant eicpression than in the sacri-
fices made for public education. We realise that our chief asset in New England is not the sea
oi the water power in our tumbling rivers, and assuredly not the fertility of the somewhat
niggardly soil, but our own manhood and womanhood, the quality of which we strive to main-
tain by careful training given to the minds and bodies of the young. Our school children, an
army more than one hundred thousand strong, are the objects of our teuderest solicitude,
which is revealed not only by lavish public expenditures, but through the participation of
all claases of citizens in the problems of juvenile education. Only a week ago the Central
Labor Union, a body representing the allied trade unions of the city, passed resolutions in
favor of a different form of organization for the school committee.
That culture in the higher phases flourishes among us needs do demonstration before
a gathering which, itself, represents the culture as well as the commercial enterprise and in-
tegrity of forty nations. The chief Uterary school of America had its seat in Boston in the
middle of the last century. Such names as Hawthorne, Emerson, Longfellow, Lowell, Whittier
and Holmes suggest to readers of English literature a certain refined beauty and serene ideal-
ism as well as moral ardor. We are proud of this poetic group; of our statesmen, jurists, ar-
tists and divines; and of the universities and technolo^cal institutes, famous far beyond the
borders of this country, which complete the educational structure.
The government of Boston ministers to the wants of the citizens more assiduously per-
haps than that of any other American municipality. The benefits of our libraries, parks,
baths, gymnasiums and concerts are open to all. In the treatment of tuberculosis we have
pointed the path in which others are following. A pension system provides for teacher, la-
borers, military veterans, firemen and policonen, who, from advanced age or other causes,
are unable t« continue at work. City labor is weU paid on the theory that the government as
an employer should set a conspicuous example of humanity and justice. Foreign cities which
pride themselves on their spirit of pn^rees find that Boston has anticipated them in many of
their beneficent undertakings.
Such are the fruits of civic policy in aji industrial democracy led by captains promoted
from its own ranks. In reviewing thus briefly some of its aspects I do not feel that 1 am di-
gressing. I merely expand my ^reeable theme of community and resemblance between
visitors and ourselves. You, too, gentlemen, are in the main residents of cities, striving, as we
are, to make these centers of productions, which are more and more gathering the popula-
tion within their precincts, worthy places of habitation, for the generations which are to
follow us.
Let us, then, forget all differences to-night, if any differences exist beyond the super-
ficial distinctions of language and custom, and pay tribute to the spirit of human brotherhood.
There are many islands but only one ocean, and that is the heritage of all the sons of Adam.
This common possession, this liquid emerald without price, unit«s us all — north, south, east
and west — in ever increasing facility of intercourse and ever strengthening bonds of friend-
ship. Grant that variety has its value and individuality must be preserved at any cost, yet
the blood in our veins is of one color and the world will be better when all men can meet, as
we have met this week, in the spirit of fuU-souled unity and mutual concession. Such gather-
ings forecast the golden age when peace and law shall reign over a worid too long tormented
by unprofitable dissensions. This, gentlemen, is the fairest truit ot your Congress, which has
brought honor to our city, our state and our country. (AppUntee.)
PretidMit Hsuoll, Botbm Chamber erf Commerce
It is now my pleasant privilege to present to you one who, probably more than any other,
is responsible for the inception of the International Congress of Chambers of Commerce, and
who through his earnest lesl aikd great ability has done much to bring to it the commanding
poeitioo of influence which it to-day holds. He was its first President, and is now its Presi-
DigitizedbyGoOglC
298 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
dent. The highest honor within the gift of the commercial bodies of the world baa been ten-
dered to him year after year. Well fcoown by his work in all civilized countriea, his iofluoiee
has permeated to the furthennoat comers of the earth.
1 present to you Mr. Louis Canon-Legband.
ADDRESS OF MONSIEUR LOUIS CANOIt-LEGKAITD
FreBident of the Fifth Internation&l Congress of Chambers of Commerce; Pretident
of the Permanent Committee of the IntematlonBl Confjress
Monsieur le Prudent de la Chambre de commerce de Boston,
Monsieur le President des Stats-Unis:
C'eat un grand honneur pour moi, au nom de toua les d^l^fo etrangera, de prendre la
parole dans ime assemble aussi importante que celle-ci, 4 la fin des travaux du CinquiteM
Congrte International dea Cbambree de Commerce et dea Aasociations Commercialea et Indus-
trielles du monde entier.
Conime orateura devant r^pondre i vos aimables diacoure, trois d'entre nous ont 6t£ d6-
sign^, et, dans I'ordre des congrte tenus pr^c^denunent, il ee fait qu'en parlent fran^ais, je
repr^sente la region moyenne de I'Europe; que M. Salmoiraghi, parlant en italien, pereonni-
fiera le midi, et que M. Faithful! Begg, en anglaia, parlera pour lea paya du nord. D n ssob
dire que si Ton n'avait dfl se bomer, c'eat dana toutes les autree Ungues de la tene qu'il ae
eeiait ilevi un concert d'^logee et de remerciement.
Notre ceuvre des congrte a toujours 6ti accueillie avee faveur par les gouTemements,
lea miniatres, les princes et les monarques d'Europe, mais cette fois la reception doDt nous
Bommes gratify est & la taille de ceux qui nous reyoivent: c'est une grandiose reception am^
ricaine.
Aux autorit^ de ce beau pays de Massachusetts et de Boston, a bien touIu ae jotndre le
premier citoyen des £tats-UniB, M. le President Taft. Je tiens, au nom de toutea lea naticnu
du monde ici prdeentea, k lui adresser, avec notre aalut respectueux, I'expreasion de notre vive
et bien sincere gratitude.
(TFOtuIotton)
Mr. Premdent of the Boston Chamber of Commerce,
Mr. Preradent of the United States:
It is a great honor for me, on behalf of all the foreign debates, to raise my voice
in an assembly aa important as the present one, at the close of the work of the Fifth In-
ternational Congrem of the Channels of Commerce and of the Commercial and Industrial
Associations of the entire world.
Three among our number have been selected as speakers to respond to your Idnd re-
marks and, following the order in the Congresses previously held, it appears that, in
addressing you in French, I represent the central part of Europe; that Mr. Salmoira^u,
speaking in Italian, will represent the South, and Mr. Faithfull B^g, in English, will
apeak for the countries of the North. It goes without saying that if we were not
limited, a (»ncert of praise and thanksgiving would have been raised in all the lan-
guages of the earth.
The work of our congresses has always been greeted with favor by the goveni-
mente, miniatera, princes and monarchs of Europe, but this time the reception with
which we are honored equals the greatness of those who received ua; it is a magnifiocnt
American reception.
The first citisen of the United States, Mr. Taft, the President, has graciously united
with the dignitaries of this beautiful land of Masaachusetts and of Boston. On behalf
of all the nations of the world here present I wish to present to him, together with oar
leapectful greetings, the assurance of our heartfelt and most sincere gratitude.
„Google
CHAMBERS OP COMMERCE 299
{Ctmtiiuiing in EnglMi)
The work of our IntemationAl Congreaa of Cbamben of Commerce is one of peace Emd
concord. It brings into contact men of the same mentality and of equal abilities, who ore not
alow to agree on all practical questions that can be realized. It is also in out oBsemblies that
propositions of humanitarianism and arbitration are seen to arise; it is in the contact of mer-
chsntfl and men of industry that one becomes the more easily convinced of the absurdity of
wars, and the necessity of uniable settlement in business c<niflicts, thus avoiding the delay
imd the costs of old legal formalities, I am happy to state here, before you all, that we have
no purer objectives in our labors, and that in the future sittings of our congresses we will
endeavor to aim at the reoUsation of those wishes.
(Continttmg in Frendi)
Vous dirai-je, messieurs, I'impression profonde que les gena du vieux monde, au nom
deequels je parle plus sp4cialement, ^rouvent en d£barquant aux £ltats-Unis? L'ampleur
et la grandeur de tout ce qui frsppe les 'yeux n'ont d'^gales 'que I'activit^ et I'^nergie des
hommea qui ont crM ces merveiUes.
Quand, aprte New-Yoi^ carrefour de I'Univers, avec see gigantesque constructions et
sa d^vorante allure de oit^ commergante et grouillante de vie, on arrive i. Boston, on ^rouve
en outre un intense sentiment de repoeant bien-dtre intellectuel, car cette ville de Boston, k
part ees industries et son port, possMe des ritobliBsements d'instruction de premier ordre;
c'est la perle dee £tats-Unis; et ce fut pour nous tous une satisfaction raffinie d'y avoir le
si£ge de notre cinquiime congres des Chambres de commerce.
C'est & la sont^ de cette admirable ville que je vais vous convier i, vider voa verres; mais
je veux y joindre, et je le ferai dana votre belle langue, la sant^ de la puissante Chambre de
commerce de Boston, de ses 5000 membree et de son distingu^ Prudent, M. RusseU:
(^ransloiton)
Shall I describe to you, gentlemen, the profound impression that the people of the
old world, on behalf of whom I am especially speaking, feel when landing in the United
States? The amplitude and grandeur of all that strikes the eye are only equalled by the
activity and energy of the men who have created these wonderful things.
When, after New Yoric, the croe»-roads of the Universe, with its gigantic structures
and that fascinating allurement which is characteristic of a commercial city stirring with
life, Boston is reached, one experiences an intense feeling of quieting, intellectual com-
fort, for this City of Boston, aude from its industries, its water front and harbor, possesses
educational institutions of the first order. It is the pearl of the United States; and it was
to us a keen satisfaction to hold there our Fifth Congress of the Chambers of Commerce.
To the prosperity of this admirable city I invite you to empty your glasses; but I wish
to join therewith — and I shall do it in your beautiful language — the prosperity of
the mighty Chamber of Commerce of Boston, of its 5000 members, and of its distin-
guished President, Mr. Russell.
(Ccmiinuinf in Englitk)
This Chamber of Commerce of Boston spends more than $150,000 a year not only on
commerce and trade, but on such things as education, the prevention of disease and acci-
dent, city planning and many social things that are inseparably connected with business in
the city, state or nation.
We have been welcomed with such a courtesy, such a kindness, even in the sUghtest
details our hosts have striven to render our stay so agreeable, that I find no words to thank
appropriately tlie Boston Chamber of Commerce, its President and all its members.
The lovely ladies who have so kindly attended to the feminine portion of the congrese-
ists, are entitled to a specially gracious mentitm of gratitude which I am delighted to address
to them.
Digitized byGoOgIC
300 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
Of the few deya we have spent together, a profound souvenir will linger in our heaita.
Our discussions among ourselves will bear fruit, we shall carry with us the memory of your
methods and ways of doing, and the result will be beneficial and will make for progress.
Peace, honor and good will amongst men is the motto tj] remember.
I propose the health of the City of Boston, coupled with that of the Chamber of Com-
merce and of President RuBsell. (AjtpUatst.)
President Russell, BotUm Chamber of Commerce
Among our many distinguished guests is one from It&ly, a Senator of that kingdom,
Preeident of the Chamber of Commerce of hifi own city of Milan, and a former President of
the International Congress of Chambers of Commerce; an eminent statesman, a noted engi-
neer, a man of large affairs and much public service, he wears the coveted decorations of his
own and other countries.
I am happy to present to you the Honorable ksawia SAUfomAOHi. (AppIouM.)
ADDRESS OF SENATOR ANGELO SALHOIRAGHI •
Pretident tA ai« HUan Chamber <A Commerce Representiiig the Hosts of dke Milan
CongresB
Mr. President, Gentlemen, I am both honored and glad to speak upon this solemn occa-
sion when the moat important commercial repreeentativee of all nations are gathered here in
such a great number in the name of human soUdarity, in the name of the progress of tjie com-
mercial world and of its civilisation.
I am honored and glad, and also proud, to represent here the government of my beloved
country and particidarly His Excellency the Minister of Commerce, Honorable Nitti. He,
like m^elf, feels that it is true and sincere patriotism to give to Italy the opportunity to yxa
all her sister nations and have with them the friendliest relations.
In the name of the Government of His Majesty the King of Italy, in the name of the dd-
^atea of the Commercial Associations of Italy, I salute and pay respectfully homage, first
to the great Republic of the United States of America and to its Preaident, Mr. Taft; to the
State of Massachusetts; to the Authorities of this City, the Athena of America, which wel-
comes UB with such a splendid courtesy; to the diligent Organising Committee of the Congress
which is going to make us spend an unforgetable period in our lives. I salute and thank every
one of them and most particularly the President, Mr. Smith, and Vice-President, Mr. fllene.
In the name of our ladies I thank the "Ladies' Committee" for the splendid reception that
they have had here.
I drink to the ever increasing prosperity of this great nation, — a nation of the boldest
initiative, of the highest and noblest conceptions, to which she knows how to dedicate the b«st
part of her marvelous atrength. (AppIatM«.)
President Russell, BoiUm Chamber of Commerce
And last but not least in our list for this evening is a noted citisen of Great Britain. Of
old Scotch Calvinistic stock, he, like so many of his countrymen, eariy in life left home and be-
gan his very successful career in the then far-diatant New Zealand. Coming home he engaged
in banking and other business, entered Parliament, and became identified with the leading
measures and developmenta of our time. Always progressive, ever active, he has made for
himself an honored name; a work! traveler, a keen observer, deeply interested in commercial
affairs and commercial bodies, his assistance and advice are eagerly sou|^t and always free^
I present to you Mr. F. Faithtdu. Bnaa. (AppIauM.)
,y Google
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
ADDRESS OF HS. F. FATTHFULL BEGG
Chalmuui of the Coundl of the London Chamber of Commerce Representiog the Hosts of
the Iiondon Congress
Mr. Preakient, Mr. Governor, Mr. Mayor, Lodiee and Oentlemen:
I have selected the Engliah language as the medium of my speech but 1 wish it to be under-
stood that when I have finished I shaU be glad to repeat my remariu in all the other languages
spoken at tlte Congrees, if you desire to listen to me. (Laughter.)
My fiiBt word must be an egression of r^ret that my old friend, Mr. Charles Charleton,
owing to illnesa, is not present to diHchorge the duty which thus falls, however unworthily,
upon me. We, in the London Chamber of Commerce, had the great privilege in 1910 of wel-
comii^ the Fourth International Congress, and many of thoee present know well bow ably Mr.
Charleton discharged the duties which fell to his lot on that oecaaion.
The present Congrees far exceeds in importance any Congrees which has preceded it,
and we owe it to the energy of our kind hosts in Boston that it has proved a magnificent
BuccesB. It is true that you have not been able to give universal satisfaction. There are, for
example, I understaikd, dd^catea who are indignant because their bathrooms are several
inches shorter than they had been led to expect before undertaking to cross the Atlantic.
(Laughler.)
NevertlielesB we are experiencing a reception in Boston as hearty and as sincere as any
that has hitherto been extended to previous Congresses by the crowned heads and poten-
tates Igr which tbtj have been welcomed.
We were led to expect much, but I think I cannot better express our feelings with regard
to our reception than in the words of the Queen of Sheba, when she made her historic visit
to King Solomon, "Behold the half has not been told us." (AppiauM.)
We find ouraelvea greeted here in this historic city not only by the merchants of the city
itself, but we are honored by the presence of the head of the Government of the United Stat«8,
by the Governor of the state of Massachusetts and by the Mayor of the city. And if we have
not been greeted by crowds in the streets as great as those which have welcomed the return
of the Red Sox, the photographers at least have done their best to make our visit comfort-
able. {Laughter.)
You have even gone so far as to armnge for a contested election to take place during the
period of our visit especially, so I understand the Mayor to say in hia address of welcome,
especially in order that we might have an opportunity of examining the wooing of American
institutions at the polling booths. {Lauglder.)
This reception, in spite of the shortcomings to which I have referred, cannot but have a
powerful effect in building up the vitality of our organisation and rendering it more effective
for the purposes for which it was designed.
The rapid development in the importance of these Congresses has more than justified
the faith of those who a few yeara ago formulated the idea upon which they are founded.
The root, or fundamental idea, was to form a federation of commercial men throughout the
countries of the world, having for its object to induce or even compel governments to de-
vote their attention less to the arts of war and more to the arts of peace. In this ambition
the organisation has met with a considerable measure of success, but much remains to be
done. Govenunents have not yet accepted the theory that embassies and chancelleries
should concern themselves leas than they have done with the organisation of national re-
sources for the purposes of destruction, and that commerce is not carried on merely to pro-
vide a treasure fuikd destined chiefly to provide means for the carrying on of war. We
deeire that governments should regard commerce as an end and not merely as a means.
To our hosts on this occasion may I say that whilst here on this vast continent you have
had, more or less in the past, little to concern yourselves with except the development of your
wonderful resources, even you are not now free from the complications of a foreign policy or
,y Google
302 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
from questions of difficulty which tend to increase in number and must so increase as time
goes on.
You are meeting these questions with characteristic slcill. To this end you have even
been able to add weapons to the already well-stocked annory of diplomatists. There is, for
example, that famous doctrine specially applicable to this continent, which, from the name
of its author, I take to have been evolved by a countryman of my own poseessiDg that q>ecial
talent for met^hysics that characteriies the Scottish race. (Laughter,)
But if you will turn your eyes from this hemisidiere to the Continent of Europe what wilt
you find? You will find the nations massed in anned camps, every nerve being strained for
the increase of armaments on land and minoue expenditure being incurred on an ever in-
creasing scale in preparation for warfare at sea. We read in the pages of histoiy of great
world-movements by which the nations of antiquity were shaken to their foundation and
in many cases perished utterly by the operations of war. Nothing remains of many of these
nations but moldering relics of departed greatness, vast mounds of Grumbling dust marking
irtiere great cities oitce Stood, now surrounded by desolation.
Are we sure that we have not questions to solve in the future, and it may be in the im-
mediate future, of magnitude as great, or even greater, than those which convulsed the em-
pires of the past? We are men of business whose interests lie in the solution of such queeti<»ts
without resort to war. Should we not see to it that our influence should ever be brought to
bear upon govenunents of whatever description to secure by every means in our power a
peaceful solution in every case, and may we not hope that our influence properly exerted
may be sufficient to secure that end? (i4pplauce.)
In conclusioD, I trust that I shall not be r^^arded as greatly daring if I refer to a question
which is much in the minds of commercial men at the present time. The great nation whose
guesto we are is en^ged at the present moment in the completion of a work of unexanqiled
magnitude and destined to revolutionise the trade routes of the world. The necessity for
that great woric has long been evident, but it has been left to the United States of America
to undertake its completion. We must all accord the highest honor to this country for the
magnificent spirit in which the task has been undertaken and the scientific skill which has
been displayed in carrying it out.
Incidentally there has arisen in connection with this matter a question of high politics
in r^ard to which the counti? to which I have the honor to belong, aiul the great Republic
whose gueste we are, do not at the moment see eye to eye. Far be it from me to say a
single word on this occasion on the merits of that diBerence of opinion, but I do desire to
say this (and I speak with full concurrence of all my associates from London here present],
that I have confidence that the great common-sense and well-known capacity for adjusting
difficult problems which characterises both nations will find a solution by peaceful means
which will be honorable to both parties concerned. (Applauae.)
We are now approaching the date when one hundred years of unbroken peace will have
existed between the two countries. Our past struggles are long ago forgiven and forgotten.
We no longer remember the Boston Tea Party witli resentment and Bunker Hill has become
a historic memory.
That these harmonious relations will continue I confidently believe and it is my earnest
prayer and hope that nothing may ever occur to disturb them. (_Applautt.)
Adjourned.
Digitized byGoOgIC
■KnlM
The rulM governing the International Congrese of Chambers of Commerce are as foUows:
1. The Intemational Congress of Chambers of Commerce and Commercial and Indus-
trial Aasociatioiu ahall meet at intervals which, generally speaking, shall not exceed two
jrears.
2. The following shall be admitted to the Congress — Delegates of any corporation
legally representing commercial and iitdustrial interests, and of voluntary industrial and
commercial associations; also, delegates of federations of such corporations and cmnmercial
and industiial unions-
Individuals not being nominated delegates, but who are members of any such corpora*
tion or union, shall also be admitted.
3. The subscription shall be 20 franca for individuals, and 50 francs for corporations or
unions. The latter shall, on payment of the GO francs, be entitled to nominate three dele*
gates; for each additional del^ate 20 francs shall be payable.
4. The Congress itself shall decide questions of internal organisation. The Congress
may, besides, vote on any question which it discusses, if the majority so desire.
Participants admitted in accordance with Rule 2 (Paragraph 2) shall not be entitled to
vote; those nominated in accordance with Rule 2 (Paragraph 1) shall each have a vote. The
decision shall be made by a majority vote. At the request of not less than ten members,
who must in addition represent three different countries, the vote shall be taken by
eouniriet; such request must be made before the commencement of the voting. Should a
vote be taken b]/ eountriei, the decision shall be arrived at by a majority of voters present,
in addition to the majority by countries, and otherwise the vote shall be declared void; a
dettul of the vote record by each country shall be included in the Minutes.
5. The Congress itself shall elect its executive cheers for the duration of its meetii^.
6. A Permanent Committee shall be formed for the purpose of making arrangements
for the meetings and carrying out the decisions of &e Congress.
Each country shall be represented on this Committee by at most three delegates. To
this effect, three regular members and three alternates (mppUanta) shall be nominated by
each country.
7. The r^ular members and alternates shall be nominated by the delegates to the Con-
gress of the different countries; delegates of countries having a national federation of Chambers
of Commerce or of industrial and conuoereial sssociations may abandon the right of nomi-
nating representatives on the Pennanent Committee in favor of such federation; members
of the Permanent Committee shall exercise the authority thus conferred upon them until the
succeeding Congress.
303
Digitized byGoOgIC
304 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
8. Every member of the Perm&nent Committee, unless absent, sh&U h&ve & vote, and
queationH shall be decided by a majority of votes, provided that half of the countries are
represented at the sitting.
9. The Pennanent Committee ehall elect from tunongat it« own membera a President
and Vice-President and, in addition, an administrator, who may be the General Seoetaiy,
but need not be a member of the Conmiittee. Such appointments shall remain in force dur-
ing the interval separating two Congresses.
Tlie Permanent Committee shall decide upon the place at which the next Congress shall
be held in the event of the previous Congress not having done so.
Pending any further decision on the matter, the headquarteta of the Permanent Committee
shall be in Brussels.
10. The Permanent Committee shall be convened by the President. The Utter tmut
call the Committee together if so requested by at least a fourth of ite members.
11. The expenses shall be defrayed by means of the aubeoriptions referred to in Rule 3,
and by contributions which may eventually be made by States, corporations, unions or in-
dividuils.
,y Google
DigilizedbyGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
„Google
DigilizedbyGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
„Google
DigilizedbyGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
■-YD 25228
I
Digitized byGoOgle
DigilizedbyGoOgle
Open Library